Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers OECD … · Ana María Quiroz International...

Government of Chile Ministry of Education Planning and Budget Division Department of Research and Statistics

Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers OECD Activity

Country Background Report for Chile

November 2003


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The preparation of this document for the OECD was conducted by the Department of Research and Statistics - Division of Budget and Planning - of the Ministry of Education and coordinated by Paula Darville, Mauricio Farías and Cesar Muñoz, under the supervision of Vivian Heyl and incorporating the cooperation of Iván Núñez and Xavier Vanni both from Minister of Education Cabinet, and Carlos Eugenio Beca from the Centre for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research (CPEIP) of the Ministry of Education. This report also includes the collaboration of the following people from the Ministry of Education: Rodolfo Bonifaz Minister Cabinet adviser María Elvira Cornejo Higher Education Scholarships Program Rodrigo Díaz Department of Research and Statistics René Donoso Division of General Education Rodrigo González Juridical Department Carla Guazzini Department of Research and Statistics Sonia Marambio Juridical Department Claudio Molina Centre for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research

(CPEIP) Paulina Peña Program for Strengthening Initial Teachers’ Training Ana María Quiroz International Relationship Office (ORI) Cecilia Richards Division of General Education Fernando Ríos Centre for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research

(CPEIP) Miguel Rozas Division of General Education Jaime Veas Centre for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research

(CPEIP) This document also includes the opinion from the following institutions: Guillermo Scherping Villegas and Isabel Guzmán – Department of Education and Training - Teachers Association (Colegio de Profesores) Father Héctor Vargas Bastidas – President of the Private Schools Association (Federación de Instituciones de Educación Particular) Walter Oliva – President of the Subsidized Private Schools Association (Corporación Nacional de Colegios Particulares A.G.)


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TABLE OF CONTENTS GLOSSARY.................................................................................................................................. 5 LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................... 8 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1: NATIONAL CONTEXT ....................................................................................... 13

1.1 Political developments and priorities.........................................................................13 1.2 Population trends .......................................................................................................14 1.3 Economic trends .........................................................................................................15 1.4 Availability of resources.............................................................................................17

CHAPTER 2: THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE SCHOOL WORKFORCE ........................... 20

2.1 Main structural features of the school system ...........................................................20 2.2 Division of responsibilities among government, schools and teachers......................21 2.3 Teachers employed.....................................................................................................26 2.4 Shortage of teachers ...................................................................................................28

CHAPTER 3: ATTRACTING TALENTED PEOPLE TO THE TEACHING PROFESSION....... 32

3.1 The Main Policy Issues..............................................................................................32 3.2 Policy initiatives and their impact .............................................................................37 3.3 Priority problems .......................................................................................................39 3.4 Some actors’ perceptions ...........................................................................................39

CHAPTER 4: EDUCATING, DEVELOPING AND CERTIFYING TEACHERS........................ 41

4.1 Main policy concerns..................................................................................................41 4.2 Requirements to qualify for employment as a teacher..............................................41 4.3 Initial teacher training education ..............................................................................42 4.4 Training for other professionals ................................................................................42 4.5 Induction programs....................................................................................................43 4.6 Professional development options in-service training ...............................................43 4.7 Policy initiatives and their impact: improving teacher education ............................45 4.7.1 The Implementation of the FFID Program ...........................................................45 4.7.2 Other initiatives......................................................................................................48 4.8. High priorities for future policy development in training and certifying teachers ..49 4.9 Some stakeholders’ perceptions.................................................................................50

CHAPTER 5: RECRUITING, SELECTING AND ASSIGNING TEACHERS ............................ 53

5.1 Main policy concerns..................................................................................................53 5.2 Teachers’ contracts ....................................................................................................53 5.3 Assigning teachers ......................................................................................................53 5.4 Teaching vacancies.....................................................................................................54 5.5 Policy initiatives and their impact .............................................................................55 5.6 Highest priority problems ..........................................................................................56 5.7 Some stakeholders’ perceptions.................................................................................57

CHAPTER 6: RETAINING EFFECTIVE TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS....................................... 59

6.1 Main policy concerns..................................................................................................59 6.2 Teachers leaving the profession .................................................................................59 6.3 Teachers’ Evaluation .................................................................................................60 6.4 Promotion and career diversification ........................................................................62 6.5 Salary scales ...............................................................................................................62


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6.6 Actual practice ...........................................................................................................63 6.7 Policy initiatives and their impact .............................................................................64

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................ 69 LIST OF ANNEXES ................................................................................................................... 71

Annex 1: The Educational Reform (ER)....................................................................................71 Annex 2: Requirements for schools to receive public subsidy (voucher)....................................72 Annex 3: Voucher System ........................................................................................................72 Annex 4: Teachers Act .............................................................................................................73 Annex 5: The Standard Career Teachers Contract .....................................................................73 Annex 6: Scholarships ..............................................................................................................74 Annex 6: Reward for Teaching of Excellence (AEP).................................................................74 Annex 7: Scholarships ..............................................................................................................75 Annex 8: Teacher Evaluation System........................................................................................75 Annex 9: Teacher assistants ......................................................................................................77 Annex 10: Teachers’ Mentors Network.....................................................................................77 Annex 11: Scholarships for Teachers’ Children.........................................................................78

LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................... 79 CHAPTER 1: NATIONAL CONTEXT ....................................................................................... 79

TABLE 1.1: Population 5 – 29 years old, 1992-2002 ................................................................79 TABLE 1.2: Public expenditure on education, 1990 – 2001 ......................................................79 TABLE 1.3: Expenditure on education, 1990 - 2001 .................................................................80 TABLE 1.4: Expenditure on educational institutions per student, year 1999..............................80 TABLE 1.5: Expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP, year 1999...........80

CHAPTER 2: THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE SCHOOL WORKFORCE ........................... 81

TABLE 2.1: Schools and enrollment by educational level, school year 2001.............................81 TABLE 2.2: Schools and enrollment by educational level, school year 2001.............................81 TABLE 2.3: Schools and enrollment by year, 1990- 2001 .........................................................82 TABLE 2.4: Schools and enrollment by type of school and geographic zone, school year 2001.82 TABLE 2.5: Teachers by function, gender and type of school, year 2001 ..................................83 TABLE 2.6: Teachers by age and type of school, year 2001......................................................84

CHAPTER 3: ATTRACTING TALENTED PEOPLE TO THE TEACHER PROFESSION......... 84

TABLE 3.1: Length of program and enrollment by level of education, year 2001......................84 TABLE 3.2: Increase in the score obtained in the PAA, 1998 - 2001.........................................84 TABLE 3.3: Distribution of teachers and comparison groups per income deciles, year 1998 .....86 TABLE 3.4. Scholarships for teaching students and average score obtained in the PAA, 1998 - 2003 .........................................................................................................................................86 TABLE 3.5: New enrollments in the careers of both primary and secondary education, 1997 - 2001 .........................................................................................................................................86

CHAPTER 4: EDUCATING, DEVELOPING AND CERTIFYING ............................................ 87

TABLE 4.1: Teachers in the Program of Study Abroad Scholarships, 1996 - 2001 ....................87 CHAPTER 6: RETAINING EFFECTIVE TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS........................................ 87

TABLE 6.1: Salary scale for public schools by level of education and years of work, year 200187


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GLOSSARY

� 900 Schools Program: a program whose aim is to improve the quality of the children’s cognitive and socio-affective learning, from kinder to 8th grade, within the framework of the new syllabuses, especially in language and mathematics. Schools included in this program are those public subsidized schools under performing the SIMCE national test at provincial level.

� Academic Ability Test: this is nationwide entrance examination that measures academic

aptitude used by the public funded universities to select students applying to their different careers.

� Centre for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research: an unit whose

responsibilities of guiding, regulating, coordinating and developing teacher training activities are aimed to support both headmasters and teachers in their duties of improving their pupils’ learning processes within the Educational Reform framework.

� Central Workers Union: national organization grouping dependent and independent

workforce without discrimination. Its aims are to promote the organization of all Chilean workers and to promote, defend and represent the interests of all workers, in terms of their economic, social and cultural improvement.

� Enlaces: programme of educational computing system designed by MINEDUC with the

purpose of incorporating to the educational system new didactic resources: to take advantage of the potentialities that new technologies in information and communication offer to the education world.

� Higher Education: in OECD notation, this is equivalent to tertiary education. This level

enrols students graduated from secondary level and is formed by Universities, Professional Institutes and Technical Training Centres. To be enrolled at this level only a second level certificate is required, but subsidized universities also require the PAA scores.

� Measurement System of the Education Quality: its aim is to produce objective and

reliable indicators about the education quality, useful for the design of actions and programmes of improvement of the education quality. SIMCE works based on a standardized test taken nationwide once a year by all the students of 4th and 8th grades at primary level, and 2nd grade at secondary level, alternately. The system’s design and administration relies on the Curriculum and Evaluation Unit of MINEDUC.

� Minimum Basic National Pay: the result of multiplying the minimum value of the

chronological hour fixed by law and the number of chronological weekly hours per month specified on the teacher’s contract expressed in Chilean pesos. This minimum value differs whether the teachers fills his/her functions at pre-school, primary and special education, or whether the functions are fulfilled at secondary level. In adult education, its value will be determined according to the level of education to be taught.


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� Municipal Education Department: it is the Unit within the municipal organizational

structure of which a school depends on.

� National Performance Evaluation System: the purpose of this system is to contribute to the improvement of the education quality offered by the national subsidized educational system, recognizing and rewarding the professionals working in the best performing schools. The respective regulation establishes an economic benefit for the teachers through the Subvención por Desempeño (Performance Subvention), which is paid quarterly to the sostenedores of the selected schools.

� Pedagogical Excellence Reward: its aim is the strengthening of the education quality

and, at the same time, to recognize and highlight teachers’ merits that reveal wisdom, skills and competences of excellence.

� Primary Education: in Chile this involves primary and lower secondary level using

OECD´s terminology with eight grades of compulsory education and including pupils from 6-7 years old to 13-14 years old. It is divided into two cycles: 1st basic cycle of four years, which is mainly focused on basic content with a globalized methodology, and a 2nd basic cycle of four years in which the content is organized by more specific subjects and formative activities.

� Program for Basic Teacher Training: this program has been designed in order to

inform, sensitise and instruct, gradually and progressively, the entire teaching workforce. This process has been structured in different phases and stages and includes the execution of improvement workshops divided in areas and sub-areas of learning.

� Program of Scholarships for Overseas Study: this program seeks to strengthen and

enhance teachers and principals, so they can have a key role in the creation and growth on innovations aiming to collaborate in the achievement of a better and more equitable education. These objectives are accomplished through the learning of those pedagogical experiences developed by prestigious educational institutions in other countries.

� Program for Strengthening Initial Teachers’ Training: this is a MINEDUC’s program

destined to enhance the systems of initial teacher training produced in higher education institutions in the country, for each level of the regular education.

� Scholarships for Outstanding Teacher Students: this benefit seeks to support and

motivate good students to enrol to the pedagogy career covering 100% of the annual fee.

� Scholarships for Teachers’ Children: these are scholarships destined to fund part of or the whole first year to those students enrolled at public funded institutions of higher education level and whose parents are currently working for subsidized schools.

� School Subsidy Unit: this is a basic amount of money determined by law used to

calculate the monthly value of the educational subsidy delivered to each level of


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education. The USE value is readjusted in the same percentage, every time there is a general wage settlement for the public sector.

� Secondary Education: in OECD notation it is equivalent to upper secondary education.

It enrols pupils graduated from primary education between 13-14 years old and 17-19 years old. First two years include a common syllabus and the last two years the syllabus I divided in two categories: humanístico-científica (general) and técnico-profesional (vocational).

� Stakeholders: the natural or legal person that owns an educational institution, either

publicly subsidized or privately funded.

� Superior Council of Education: autonomous and public organization, in charge of accrediting private institution of higher education. Its main responsibility is establishing and managing a system of supervision that enables to evaluate the development of institutional projects of private universities and professional institutes nationwide.

� Teacher Act: a legislation that regulates the professional requirements, duties,

responsibilities and rights common to all the educational professionals. In terms of salaries, it sets the minimum value of the chronological hour and for the municipal sector, compulsorily sets the incentives allowances of experience, of working in hard conditions and of directive and technical-pedagogical responsibilities. The private sector is regulated by the norms of the Labour Code.

� Teacher Performance Evaluation: it assesses the professional performance of teachers

using performance standards described in the Marco para la Buena Enseñanza – MBE (Good Teaching Framework). Its orientation is based on the strengthening of the teacher career, specifically to improve the teachers’ professional performance, to contribute to the improvement of the expected learning objectives of the students. It has a formative direction focused on the learning process that the educators themselves and the educational system achieve to improve their pedagogical work.

� Teachers’ Mentors Network: this is a network created by those teachers that have

accredited academic excellence seeking to reinforce the teaching profession using their abilities and through their contribution to the professional development of the entire community of class teachers.

� The Extension of the School Day: part of the ER in progress, through which the school

day at primary and secondary level is extended, moving from a school work day organized in half of day to the one of full day, without changing the 40 school weeks per year. The premise behind this policy is that a longer school time of pupils, teachers and administrators creates conditions that empower the pedagogic processes that the ER involves.


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LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AEP Pedagogical Excellence Reward (Asignación de Excelencia Pedagógica) CES Higher Education Council (Consejo de Educación Superior) CONACEP National Corporation of Subsidized Private Schools (Corporación Nacional

de Colegios Particulares) CP Teachers Association (Colegio de Profesores) CPEIP Centre for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research (Centro de

Perfeccionamiento, Experimentación e Investigación Pedagogica) CRFE Council of Deans of Schools of Education (Consejo de Rectores de

Facultades de Educación) CUT Central Workers Union (Central Unica de Trabadores) DAEM Departamento de Educación Municipal (Municipal Education Department) ETS Educational Testing Service (USA) FFID Program for Strengthening Initial Teachers’ Training (Programa de

Fortalecimiento de la Formación Inicial Docentes) FIDE Federation of Private Education Institutions (Federación de Instituciones de

Educación Particular) GDP Gross Domestic Product ILO International Labour Organization JEC Extension of the School Day (Jornada Escolar Completa) MBE Good Teaching Framework (Marco para la Buena Enseñanza) MINEDUC Ministry of Education of Chile (Ministerio de Educación de Chile) PAA Academic Ability Test (Prueba de Aptitud Academica) RBMN Minimum Basic National Pay (Remuneración Básica Mínima Nacional) RE Educational Reform (Reforma Educacional)


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SIMCE Measurement System of the Education Quality (Sistema de Medición de la Calidad de la Educación)

SNED National Performance Evaluation System (Sistema Nacional de Evaluación

de Desempeño) UNPD United Nations Development Programme USE School Subsidy Unit (Unidad de Subvención Escolar)


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Chile has experienced major political, economic and social changes in the last three decades. Three democratic governments led by the same political coalition (Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia) have taken the reins of the country since 1990 after 17 years of an authoritarian military government.

2. The military government (1973-1990) carried out a reform program of the school

system in Chile aiming to decentralize its administration, introducing a voucher system for its finance and encouraging an increase of government-funded private schools. Conversely from 1990, the democratic governments have attempted to implement policies in education with an explicit focus on public investments for increasing quality and equity in the educational system, while maintaining the organizational and funding components introduced in the eighties.

3. Chilean’s school system is organized into two levels: an eight-year compulsory

primary level and a secondary level (compulsory from 2003 on) of four years. The pre-primary education system is for children up to the age of 5 and not yet compulsory. Similarly, the educational system is decentralized involving 3 types of schools: public, private subsidized and private non-subsidized. Both public and private subsidized schools are financed by the government through a per pupil subsidy system, based on student attendance. Private schools are financed via student fees.

4. MINEDUC acts as a coordinator by regulating, evaluating and supervising all

aspects of education. Additionally, it draws up general educational policies and special programs for improving the quality and equity of the system.

5. The Chilean government, mainly through its ministries of Finance and Education,

Teachers Associations, and public and private teaching institutions are involved in the development of teaching policies. However the different actors in the educational process do not find a common ground where on a regular and compulsary basis their different interests are in agreement.

6. When the process of decentralization in the beginning of the 1980’s made public

educational institutions to depend directly on the municipalities, teachers lost their rights as public employees and became employees ruled by the same regulations in the private sector. Once the democracy returned in 1990 there was strong pressure from the teachers to change the situation. As a result, the Teachers Act was enacted in 1991 for all those professionals in education who work in public, private subsidized and private schools stating that they are subject to the current labour law.

7. Given the decentralized nature of the system, teaching vacancies is decided by each

school using some standards defined by MINEDUC, which are related mainly to maximum class size, contract hours and teaching hours.


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8. In relation to the teaching staff, it is made up of administrative and teaching personnel. The vast majority of teachers work in public schools. In terms of level, 59% of teachers work in elementary education and 27% in secondary education. In terms of gender, there were more female than male teachers working in the education system in 2001.

9. In the case of the municipal schools, the most relevant causes of teachers’ firings

are: to be on a demerit list for two consecutive years and to suffer from irrecoverable health problems which affect job performance and abolition of hours.

10. Similarly, the introduction of market-oriented reforms during the 80s, such as the

voucher system, is one of the most important elements contributing to develop educational system accountability. In addition, since 1996 the MINEDUC has made available to the different stakeholders, information on school performances (via the results of the national assessment exam - SIMCE) in 4th, 8th and 10th grades. Currently, there are efforts leading to improving performance feedback to parents. In addition, it is developing teachers’ standards and some measures of professional accountability.

11. The Teachers Act establishes that all educational professionals working in primary

and secondary educational institutions that are recognized by the State must be evaluated about their performance. The results of the evaluation must be taken into consideration when the teacher applies for other posts, scholarships, further training or postgraduate studies, or to receive financing for innovative teaching projects, among others. In 2002 a framework for performance standards was developed and the pilot project for performance evaluation was applied in four regions of the country. The new system will be gradually put into place in 2003 throughout the country starting from the second school term of the year.

12. The usual route to begin a teaching career is via institutions of higher education. A

variant on the regular route is the “Second Bachelor’s” degree. A “special route” is one that offers a degree course to people with some experience in education. Finally, people can enter the teaching profession as “authorized” or certified by MINEDUC.

13. Some research shows that teachers’ salaries are in the higher per capita income

groups compared to other professions with same amount of years of study. As far as the Act is concerned, teachers in the public sector enjoy financial benefits relating to years of service in the profession, in-service training, management or technical responsibilities, working under difficult conditions and working in remote areas. In terms of non-financial benefits, teachers enjoy a range of benefits of different types.

14. A public policy of “strengthening the teaching profession” has been undertaken

since 1996. This policy went hand in hand with the Educational Reform in order to have a deep repair of the teaching and study programs in operation at that time and to significantly widen the resources available to public education. The major concern is related to the quality of teacher education. The policy of “strengthening


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the teaching profession” is aimed at creating conditions to keep effective teachers within the profession. The improvement in salaries has been the main instrument for this but there have also been other measures like awards for teaching of excellence, incentives for outstanding teams of teachers, the special grants given to those teachers who are performing under difficult conditions, as well as the various opportunities offered for further in-service training, including abroad internships and training in IT.

15. Moreover, different opportunities of professional development have been opened up

for teachers during the past few years, both in institutions of higher education and others like the MINEDUC itself via different programs and the Centre for Training, Experimentation and Pedagogic Research (CPEIP). The actions developed by MINEDUC are aimed fundamentally at helping teachers to adapt to the changes envisioned in the ER. The major initiative is the implementation of the Program for Strengthening Initial Teachers’ Training (FFID). A second initiative is the provision of competitive funds to develop innovations that will improve the quality of programs offered by universities. Finally, a third initiative is the accreditation of all teacher-training programs.

16. Recently, MINEDUC has implemented other policy initiatives such as the National

Performance Evaluation System of Subsidized Educational Schools, implemented in 1995. The purpose of this was contributing to improve the quality of education provided by the subsidized educational system in Chile by encouraging and acknowledging teachers of better performing schools. This incentive consists of a money reward for teachers of schools showing the best performance, by means of the Subsidy for Excellent Performance.

17. Other initiative is the National Teaching Excellence Awards. The purpose of these

awards is to establish a social acknowledgement of the teaching profession, rewarding the more outstanding teachers in the country. Fifty prices will be awarded, distributed by regions in accordance with the relative size of the teaching staff.

18. The Pedagogical Excellence Reward is other initiative. This program was agreed

between the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Association of Chile with the purpose of offering new career opportunities to classroom teachers. It consists of a voluntary certification on the part of the Ministry to classroom teachers. Opportunities for getting accreditation and obtaining the award are gradually opening up. It involves a monthly amount of money that the Ministry of Education pays the teacher while he/she is in the professional practice segment, which he/she was certified in. Certified teachers will be publicly acknowledged for their professional merits.

19. Finally, the Network of Teachers’ Mentors is a teacher support program whereby

the teachers that have been certified for their professional excellence will have the opportunity to support other teachers in order to improve the learning results of pupils.


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CHAPTER 1: NATIONAL CONTEXT

1.1 Political developments and priorities

20. During the past decade, major political, economic and social changes took place in Chile when, after 17 years of a military government, three democratically elected governments have ruled Chile, all of them part of the same political coalition (Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia).

21. During the 1980s the school system in Chile experienced a reform program enacted

by the military government (1973-1990) that decentralized its administration, introduced a voucher-type system for its finance and encouraged an increase of government-funded private schools. In 1990, after more than one and a half decades of an authoritarian political and “neo-liberal” economic system, a democratic government implemented policies in education with an explicit focus on public investments for increasing quality and equity in the educational system, while maintaining the organizational and funding components introduced in the eighties. While the aim of the reform in the eighties was fiscal, administrative and power-linked, the core of the reform in the nineties has aimed at offering equal educational opportunities for everyone.

22. The first democratic administration (1990-1994) put its efforts into improving pre-

school and primary education, through several programs focused on increasing quality and equity for students with low socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, special attention was put on improving teachers’ working conditions with the creation of the Teacher Act and a substantial increase in educational expenditure.

23. The second democratic administration (1994-2000) started its initiatives in the

education sector with a technical and political discussion concentrating on achieving a political consensus and making the public conscious of the strategic implications education has for the country’s overall development. The President of the Republic convened a National Commission for the Modernization of Education, which at the end of 1994 completed a plan for an education reform at the national level. The proposals of the National Commission made a major contribution, systematizing and arousing debate among the country’s political, business and cultural leaders on the tasks facing national education. It made a diagnosis of the Chilean education situation and established a set of priorities in terms of changes that were highly consistent with the policies already being implemented. During the 1996-2000 period, after a national consensus on education policy, the reform was formally approved and initiated. The principal lines of action of the Educational Reform (ER) were: curricular reform, teachers’ professional development, extending the school day and special improvement and innovation programs1.

1 See annex 1


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24. Finally, a third stage of democratic administration started in 2000 with the government of President Ricardo Lagos (2000-2006), who was the first Minister of Education of the democratic governments installed since 1990. The main objectives of this period have been to improve the education of all students, especially in terms of literacy and numeracy at elementary level, to increase the time for learning by continuing the extension of the school day in all schools, to reduce the student drop-out rate at secondary level, to increase enrolment in pre-school education, particularly in poor areas, to continue strengthening teacher profession, to improve the quality of vocational, technical and adult education, to improve the participation of parents in the educational process, and to increase access for all students, as well as the quality of graduate programs at tertiary level.

1.2 Population trends 1.2.1 Number of people

25. The Chilean population has grown in the past decade. Data from the latest national census (2002) shows that the total Chilean population is 15,116,435 inhabitants, which represents an increase of 1,700,000 in relation to 1992 (the previous census). This increase in the total population together with policies focused on enrolling a higher number of students has exerted pressure on the school system.

26. Chile is in a demographic transition towards an older population. The annual growth

rate has been dropping over the past decades. In fact, the annual growth rate in the 1992-2002 period was 1.2%, lower than the average of 1.6% during the 1982-1992 period and 2.5% during the 1952-1962 period.

27. Together, life expectancy, the drop in mortality and the birth rate have contributed

to the aging of the population. Currently the average age in Chile is 31 years old, 5 years more than in 1950 and 5 years less than it will be in 2025.

1.2.2 Age structure

28. The proportion of the population at the age of primary to higher education stands at 42% of the total population and the 5 to 14 year old sector of the population is expected to decrease by 3 per cent over the next 15 years. Data from the UNDP shows that the 15 to 19 and 20 to 29 age groups of the population will, however, increase by 12% and 18%, respectively. Chile will thus face the challenge of maintaining, if not improving, participation in its secondary and higher education sectors, in spite of demographic pressures (see Table 1.1).

1.2.3 Diversity

29. Chile’s population is highly urbanized with approximately 86% living in cities in 2002. Around 40% of Chile’s urban dwellers live in the Santiago Metropolitan Area, which includes the city of Santiago and the surrounding region.


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30. No changes have been produced in gender proportion in the last ten years: around 50% of the population is made up of women.

31. In the 2002 census, 4.6% of the population declared to belong to an ethnic group.

Among the 8 ethnic groups in Chile, the Mapuches, the most important accounts for 4% of the population.

1.3 Economic trends

32. After experiencing negative growth of 13.4% in 1982 and 3.5% in 1983, in 1984 the Chilean economy began a period of 15 consecutive years of strong growth of real GDP. Between 1990 and 2000, GDP grew at a real average annual rate of 6.4%, and domestic saving averaged 21.9% of GDP. Real exports of goods and non-factor services grew by 8.5% per year in real terms, significantly faster than GDP growth, and the average annual current account deficit of the balance of payments was 3.5% of GDP during the same period.

33. In 1999 the Chilean economy, along with most emerging market economies, faced

the effects of the international crisis originated in 1998 in Asia that forced a sharp reduction in domestic demand, a strong real depreciation of the Chilean currency –the peso– and, as a result, in an economic recession that drove the unemployment rate above 10 percent, a level that had not been reached in Chile since 1988.

34. The Chilean economy began a strong recovery from the recession in the last quarter

of 1999, but the recovery has lost some momentum since then. Real GDP2 growth was 4.2% in 2000, 3.1% in 2001, and 2.1% in 2002. Chile’s growth has also fallen short of the average rate prevailing in the 1990s, reflecting mainly the effects of a cyclical downturn and also of reduction in the rate of expansion of potential output.

35. Sustained GDP growth and government emphasis on social programs have allowed

reducing extreme poverty from 12.9% in 1990 to 5.7% in 2000. Additionally, government spending in the social sector has increased 128% in real terms from 1990 to 2001. The public educational expenditure as a percentage of the social public expenditure increased from 20.9% in 1990 to 26.8% in 2001 and as a percentage of the total public expenditure increased from 11.9% in 1990 to 18.7% in 2001 (see Table 1.2).

36. On the other hand, it is important to take the income distribution into account. In

2000, the poorest quintile households received 6.4% of income (work income, monetary subsidies, educational subsidies, health subsidies, pensions, etc.) whereas the highest quintile received 53.4% of total income. In addition, average schooling of the population in the poorest quintile was 7.8 years, whereas average schooling of the population in the richest quintile was 13.1 years (MIDEPLAN, 2000).

2 Central Bank of Chile, provisional figures


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1.3.1 Labour market trends

37. As a result of GDP growth during the past decade, the labour force rose at an annual rate of 2.2% from 1990 to 1998 and there was a persistent decline in unemployment through the 1990s. In fact, from a peak of 20.5% in 1983, the average unemployment rate in Chile decreased from 7.8% in 1994 to 6.2% in 1998, primarily due to the continuing strength of the Chilean economy.

38. The effect of the recession on firms earnings brought attention to cost increases

incurred during the years of rapid GDP expansion. The cost rationalization process that followed was especially severe in intensive-intensive industries causing a severe reduction in employment. This was followed by an extremely slow recovery of employment from the recession levels of 1999, a rapid increase in intensive productivity in 2000 and 2001, and an unemployment rate that, although short of the high marks of 1999, has remained well above the average rates of the last decades. Unemployment increased in 1999 and 2000 to 9.7% and 9.2%, respectively.

39. In addition, real wages decreased on 3.8% per year during 1990-2000, in

consistency with average intensive productivity growth. Real wages grew at an average rate of 2.6% between 1996 and 2000. Intensive productivity grew at an average annual rate of 3.6% across all sectors in the 1996–2000 period.

40. An increase in women’s share of the intensive force, from 31,7% in 1990 to 35.0%

in 2000, has led to a substantial change in the composition of the intensive market.

41. At the end of 2000, approximately 13.6% of the total intensive force in Chile was unionised, concentrated primarily in the electricity, gas, water and mining sectors of the economy. Reforms to the intensive code in 1990 have removed significant restrictions on the right to strike. Contracts for wages of unionised employees are negotiated by individual employers, rather than on an industry-wide basis. According to legislation passed in 1994, government employees may form associations similar to unions, but cannot strike.

42. From 1996 to 2000, there have been minor work stoppages in the public and private

sectors. In 1998, work stoppages in the public sector included a 17-day strike by teachers.

43. Congress enacted an intensive reform project. The primary objective of the reform

is to facilitate collective negotiations at the firm level, fostering competition and allowing the market to operate efficiently to reduce the rate of long-term unemployment. The bill eliminates restrictions about unionisation following ILO guidelines, strengthening the defence of civil rights in the work place. Flexible intensive contracts are also contemplated, since they allow developing part-time, flexible time, work at home, temporary, and special training contracts, among many other elements. Collective negotiations under the reform continue to be held at the firm level, but it may be voluntarily extended to a group of firms, requiring the


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explicit agreement of all participating employers and unions. Employers under the reform may hire replacement workers during a labour dispute, subject to a fee paid into a fund that benefits striking workers once the dispute has been resolved.

44. As to unemployment insurance, a law was enacted in May 2001 creating a system

that seeks to assure stability of income during the period when new employment is sought. The system has two parts, combining mandatory contributions of workers together with a contribution of employers in individual unemployment accounts and a solidarity fund, comprised of a contribution from employers and an annual fiscal contribution. A private fund administrator shall administer the resources.

1.4 Availability of resources

45. In a public address in 1994, the Minister of Finance gave a precise indication of the Government’s commitment to education: to raise the country’s level of investment in education from 4,9% to 7,0% of GDP in a period not exceeding 8 years, with the public and private sectors splitting equally such an expansion.

46. Over the past decade there has been a sustained increase in total expenditure on

education. Both public and private expenditure have grown over that time. According to national data, from 1990 to 2000, total expenditure has increased from 3.8% to 7.4% of the GDP (see Table 1.3)

47. There has been a sustained increase in public expenditure on education from

Ch$633,373 millions in the 1990-2000 period to more than Ch$1,854,309 millions in 2001 (expressed in pesos of 2001). Private expenditure has expanded at a faster pace than public expenditure. Private expenditure has increased at an annual rate of 9% from 1.4% to 3.3% of GDP (see Table 1.3).

48. By 1990 the average per student-subsidy had dropped 23% compared to 1982. It

was only in 1994 that the 1982 level of the average subsidy was surpassed, and in 1997 it was almost 50% larger than in 19823.

49. The public expenditure per student, by levels, and the expenditure per student as a

percentage of GDP per capita, both for 1999, are shown in the tables 1.4 and 1.5. 1.5 Public perception of the system4

50. In two different surveys about public perception of several educational issues (CIDE, 2002, MINEDUC, 2003), 64% of the people perceives the education quality in Chile as “good”, 62% considers that Chileans have a good educational level and

3 “Market and State principles of reform in Chilean education: policies and results”. Cristián Cox, María, José Lemaitre. 4 Based on the Study on Actor’s Perception conducted by the Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de la

Educación, 2001 and a National Public Opinion Survey commissioned by the Ministry of Education in the beginning of 2003.


18

73% of them think that primary and secondary level teachers have had good training.

51. More than two thirds thinks that the educational reform “is going to improve the

education level of the Chileans”

52. Most of the people who have or know children that study in subsidized schools consider that the educational reform “has produced visible changes.”

53. Both teachers’ training and universal school day extension appear as higher priority

actions to effectively improve the quality of education.

54. People have a strong perception that there is a quality gap between the education provided by subsidized schools and that provided by private non-subsidized schools.

55. People also perceive that schools clearly serve students with different social

background: public schools serve students of the lower income groups, while private subsidized schools serve students of the middle-low groups and private non-subsidized schools serve the middle and middle-upper groups.

56. Principals and teachers have low expectations of the educational future of the

children of poor families, especially regarding pupils’ access to higher education, and they attribute poor performance principally to the lack of family support. Principals (81.4%) and teachers (85.2%) indicate that family problems (like intrafamily violence) are the principal factor of pupils’ failure, especially in families who’s children attend public schools.

57. Parents and students, on the other hand, tend to be more optimistic and most of

them think that students are able to finish higher level.

58. A high proportion of principals (70.8%) declare that pupils in their schools achieve a moderate level of learning. This figure is quite similar among teachers (67%).

59. Thirty-eight percent of the principals of public schools declare that one of the most

serious problems affecting them is teachers’ high medical leave rate. They mention teachers’ unpunctuality in second place (30.4%) and teachers’ neglect of pupils with problems (21.7%). Principals of private subsidized schools are less critical in this respect.

60. Most parents have a positive perception of the work carried out by the teachers,

emphasizing their responsibility and punctuality (86.1%), the good relationship with pupils and parents (81.5%), and their interest in further training, learning and improving (81.3%).

61. The increase in criticism by principals of public schools reflects problems affecting

management and team formation between principals and teachers, which results in


19

work climate and communication problems among the actors.

62. Increased criticism of the subsidy system is observed among principals, who stress its low amount and variability because it is related to the pupils’ attendance.

63. Both principals and teachers agree that teachers should be evaluated, and only a low

percentage of them object this.

64. Most parents express having a high degree of confidence in teachers, considering that teachers make every effort to make their students learn more. Private subsidized schools obtain the highest rating (48.8%), public the second highest (48.6%) and private non-subsidized schools are rated third (43.5%). Parents also have great confidence in principals. Principals, on the other hand, have great confidence in their teachers, although this is lower than the confidence parents have.

65. Teachers express having great confidence in school management, reaching levels of

over 80% in the different types of schools.


20

CHAPTER 2: THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE SCHOOL WORKFORCE 2.1 Main structural features of the school system 2.1.1 Organization

66. Chile’s school system is organized into two levels (see Table 2.1 on List of Tables), an eight-year compulsory primary level for pupils between the ages of 6 and 13, and a four-year secondary level only compulsory since 2003 for pupils between the ages of 14 and 17. The secondary level is a two-track system, where students are allowed to choose either a general academic curriculum in the humanities and sciences, intended to lead on to studies at university, or the other geared towards a vocational curriculum (technical/professional), and intended to prepare pupils for the work force and also for technical studies at a higher educational level. The pre-school education system is for children up to the age of 5, not compulsory and enrolling mostly children aged 4 and 5.

67. As shown in figure 2.1, the educational system is decentralized, consisting of three

types of schools: municipal, private subsidized and private non-subsidized. Municipalities administer schools through the Department of Municipal Education (DAEM), while private stakeholders, who can be either natural individuals or private institutions, manage both private subsidized schools and private non-subsidized schools.

Figure 2.1: Educational System

68. Both public and private subsidized schools are financed by the government through

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21

a per pupil subsidy system, based on student attendance5. Private non-subsidized schools are financed via student fees.

69. MINEDUC acts as a coordinator by regulating, evaluating and supervising all

aspects of education. Additionally, it draws up general educational policies and special programs for improving the quality and equity of the system.

2.1.2 Number of schools and school population

70. In 2001, total enrolment at primary and secondary levels of the school system reached the 3.6 million pupils: 2.4 million at primary level, representing 97% of the 6–13 years age group, and 850,000 pupils at secondary level, representing 88% of the 14–17 years age group. The total enrolment in pre-school level was 287,000 in 2001 representing 33% of the 3–5 years age group (see Table 2.2).

71. In terms of total enrolment, the whole system has increased 20% from 1990 to 2001

(MINEDUC, 2002). The number of pupils enrolled in primary education has increased by around 19% during the same period, while a similar situation has occurred in secondary education where enrolment has risen 18% (see Table 2.3).

72. Additionally, in 2001 there were 10,803 schools working in the system, 58% of

which were public schools, 32% private subsidized schools, and 10% private schools (see Table 2.4).

2.2 Division of responsibilities among government, schools and teachers 2.2.1 Financing

73. Both Municipal and Private subsidized schools are financed through a voucher-type system of financing by which each local administrator (either municipal or private stakeholder) receives resources on a monthly basis, calculated on the basis of the average attendance over the previous three months. The system is based on statements submitted by the schools and subjected to a periodic, random control by supervisors from the provincial boards of MINEDUC. The subsidy takes into account differences in the cost of providing the service according to the type and level of education, as well as the geographical location of the school. The subsidy is expressed in a unit of account known as the School Subsidy Unit (USE) whose monetary value is adjusted periodically to compensate for increases in prices6. Per-student subsidy plays a central role in transferring financial public resources to schools7.

74. Empirical studies about Chile and some OECD countries8 show that vouchers and

5 See annex 2 6 See annex 2 7 For a description of the system and some debate about its consequences, see annex 3. 8 Voucher systems or similar versions are currently in operation in New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden and in


22

school choice in general has proved neither cure-all nor a catastrophe for the quality of education in terms of educational achievement and cost efficiency (Ladd, 2003; OECD, 2002), i.e. the evidence is not conclusive. For instance, McEwan and Carnoy (2000) and McEwan (2002) showed that subsidized non-religious private school show marginally lower achievements than municipal schools but student in Catholic voucher schools score higher. Results in other countries show that subsidized private schools do not tend to produce better test scores nor have lower costs. Another claim in Chile and other countries is that vouchers intensify the socio-economic stratification of schools, since private schools select student and charge extra fees that penalise student from low-income families. Moreover, school choice by parents seems to be more often based on the social composition of the school’s students than school quality. Hsieh an Urquiola (2002) conclude that vouchers system in Chile widened the variation in educational outcomes across student. Finally, there is no strong evidence on the impact of competition on school performance. For Chile, McEwan and Carnoy (2000) show that competition led to marginally better scores in Santiago but small, negative effects elsewhere. Hsieh and Urquiola (2002) estimated the net effect of the three mechanisms combined during 1981-2000 in Chile and found only a small and statistically insignificant effect of vouchers on student achievement.

75. Since 1994, a mix of public and private financing took shape when both subsidized

types of schools were authorized to raise funds through a system of shared financing. On the one hand, municipal schools can charge tuition fees only at secondary level if parents agree with that policy and the fee. On the other hand, private subsidized schools are allowed to charge fees at both primary and secondary levels. The tuition fee must not exceed 4 USE as established in the legislation and the amount of the public subsidy will depend on the average fee paid by the students where the norm states that the higher the fee charged by the school, the lower the subsidy it gets.

76. This system also establishes the existence of a scholarships system funded both by

schools and MINEDUC, in order to reduce the negative impact likely to produce by fees in low-income students that attend these schools.

77. Furthermore, municipalities can assign resources to schools from their own budget

in the same way that private stakeholders can also allocate private resources to their schools.

78. In general, public schools do not enjoy legal competences to manage funds, hence it

is the municipality who administers and allocates financial resources to all schools. Nevertheless, some public schools can manage the resources coming from tuition and enrolment fees due to shared financing system, donations and other funding sources (except the money from the per capita subsidy). These resources can be assigned to any project aiming at improving the quality of education but cannot be used to pay teachers’ salaries whatsoever. On the other hand, modifications to the

some cities in the United States.


23

legal framework have permitted the development of some school-based management for public schools.

79. Private subsidized schools are autonomous in allocating and managing their

resources but they are subject to the minimum teacher’s wage imposed by the Teachers Act and salary negotiations.

2.2.2 Curriculum development

80. In 1996, the educational reform (ER) defined new curricula for both primary and secondary levels. Its implementation started in 1997 and by 2002 it is working in the whole system. It established compulsory objectives and contents within which schools may design their own syllabus. This is a major innovation in terms of curriculum organization and has important implications for decentralizing and strengthening the teaching profession: every school in the country must decide whether to adapt the curriculum to its own educational plan or to follow the one defined by MINEDUC. In addition, the new curriculum framework brings a major redefinition of every area to be up to date with the latest disciplinary and teaching standards.

81. The new official curriculum of Chilean education, being more flexible and

decentralized in its implementation procedures, implies higher levels of learning objectives and standards.

2.2.3 Teachers’ labour market

82. The labour legislation that regulates teachers’ contracts differs between municipal, private subsidized and private non-subsidized schools.

83. In the case of public schools, decisions were centralized until 1980, when the

process of decentralization began and public educational institutions were transferred to depend directly on the municipalities. Teachers lost their rights as public employees and came under the same Labour Legislation as employees in the private sector, which included those teachers in the private subsidized sector as well as the private school sector itself. The shift to the municipal sector and the loss of their status as public employees was an extremely hard change for teachers, who never accepted it since it went against the whole culture of teaching (Nuñez, 2001). Once the democracy came to scene in 1990 there was strong pressure from the teachers to change this situation, which produced as a result the Teachers Act in 1991.

84. The Teachers Act is in general applied to all those professionals in education who

work in municipal, private subsidized and private schools, and states that they are subject to the current Labour Legislation9. Nevertheless, the law allows a

9 See annex 4


24

differentiation in the contracts of teachers depending on where they work. Those who work in public schools are subject to a standard career teachers contract10.

85. On the other hand, the same law establishes that those teachers who work in the

subsidized private sector are regulated by private contracts, i.e. by the rules of the Labour Legislation applicable to all private sector employees, with the exception of those applying to the working day, official holidays, minimum pay and termination of contract, where the employer has to pay each compensation lacking for the months in the current working year. It also establishes that the teachers in the private subsidized sector have the right to negotiate collectively according to the determined processes for the private sector, if an agreement is reached between the parties according to the regulations currently laid down in the public schools.

86. In the case of the public sector, qualified teachers who join municipal staff of

teachers (as it is shown later on, the concept used is “teachers hours” instead of positions) must enter via an open vacancy announcement. These open vacancies for posts must be sufficiently publicized, and published nationally at least twice a year. At the same time, teachers can also be contracted to take temporary, experimental or optional positions and as replacements for other teachers. Replacements cannot exceed 20% of the total hours of the municipal staff or carry out any management function. Since every teacher must apply to the municipality of his or her choice, in practice it is the teacher who decides where to work. Each municipality has to form qualified commissions every year to advertise and select teaching staff for the management and technical/pedagogical sector, for the pre-school, primary and secondary level schools.

87. The commission should be formed by: the Director of the Municipal Education

Department (DAEM) or a representative; the school’s principal where the vacancy exists, and one teacher chosen from among teachers of the specialty under discussion. The selection process considers variables such as the professional performance, where relevant, years of experience, and additional courses/training undertaken. The commission will rank candidates in decreasing order of evaluation and the Head of the Municipality will have five days to nominate the first choice candidate and, in case of offer refusal, the selection process will continue in strict order of precedence.

88. During the 1980s, the government nominated the principals or head teachers of

public schools. However, as part of a Reform to the Teachers Act, from 1995 the new principals will be chosen for a period of five years, after which a new selection process will take place. This measure, however, would not operate retroactively. In the selection process for management and technical/pedagogical positions, preference must be given to teachers with certified qualifications in administration and evaluation and with supervisory and vocational experience.

10 See annex 5


25

89. On the other hand, the selection process for teachers in the private sector (private subsidized and non subsidized schools) is not subject to any particular regulation save for those contained in the Labour Code. A fixed term contract lasts one school year (from March to February), unless the contract has been drawn up during the course of the year due to a teacher replacement. The contract can be renewed for another working year but from this moment on becomes indefinite. To contract a teacher for a special or extraordinary activity, which might have duration of less than a school year, the contract must stipulate the date of beginning and expiration of the contract.

90. Hiring teachers for a fixed period of time or term within an academic year enables

private sector employers to evaluate the performance of their staff before potential renewal. This is a trial period not available to the public sector unless teachers have been contracted on a “fee” basis (renewable one-year contract), which is not subject to an open selection process. Even if most of the private subsidized schools automatically renew a fixed-term contract without evaluation on a regular basis, it would seem that the schools in the private non-subsidized sector consider the first year as a trial period. The contracts are subscribed individually but can be negotiated collectively. These negotiations follow a process, the stages of which are governed by the Labour Code and can arrive at benefits superior to those established by law.

91. Similarly, the rules governing dismissals are different between the public and

private sectors. In the case of the public schools, teachers can be fired if: to be on a demerit list for two consecutive years, to have serious health problems affecting performance, and abolition of hours. To be listed in the demerit list requires the action of a system of individual evaluation, which despite being established in the 1991 Act, has been postponed up to year 2000 due to pressures from the Teachers Association (CP). This organization blocked the evaluation system because it was considered to be punitive and because it could give power to schools’ principals in those schools where a great percentage was appointed by the military regime. In 2000 the CP, MINEDUC and the Association of Municipalities agreed on establishing a new system in order to evaluate the professional performance of teachers, which has been thoroughly discussed with the teachers. Finally, the CP accepted a compulsory individual performance evaluation that is hoped to start operating during the course of 2003.

92. On the other hand, there are no rules or regulations regarding the promotion of

teachers. At municipal level, there are only 3 categories defining a career progression.

93. The Teachers Act returned to the idea of centralizing decisions about the type of

contracts and payments at public schools. Law does not establish centralized negotiations regarding payments, but it is a consequence of the creation of national payment scale for teachers. Later on, in September 1995, a number of changes and considerations were introduced into the Teachers Act to provide more flexibility.


26

2.2.4 Accountability

94. The introduction of market-oriented reforms during the 1980s has incorporated elements that have contributed to develop a school accountability system.

95. In theory, the financing system introduces elements of choice and competition. The

voucher system enables parents to choose a school freely in the public or private subsidized sector. Users create demand for one school rather than another. Schools react by expansion, contraction, or adjustment of cost and quality. It treats parents as clients, so that family decisions are decisive in the allocation of resources to education. The subsidy favours schools that can attract and retain students, while punishing those that fail in this objective. Thus, the framework tries to use competition between schools to induce efficient use of resources and effective educational results.

96. Nonetheless, this rationale needs to deepen the information and feedback

mechanisms within the educational system or market in order to guarantee efficient parental decisions. Since 1996, MINEDUC has designed a policy that aims to make available to the public opinion and parents, information about schools’ performance through the results of the national standardized test SIMCE for the 4th, 8th and 10th grades. Currently, MINEDUC is planning to improve the feedback into the system through annual reports to parents providing information such as students’ progress, public tests results, financial resources, progress in the implementation of action plans, or school management performance. However, a key issue here is to determine the extent to what these expanded flows of information will be effectively achieving their purposes.

97. In addition, MINEDUC is making efforts in order to develop teachers’ standards

and some measures of professional accountability such as a quality control system for teacher’s competence at entry into the profession through teacher training programs and a voluntary advanced accreditation scheme for excellent teachers.

2.3 Teachers employed11 2.3.1 Staffing

98. The teaching staffs basically include administrative and teaching personnel. Administrative staff consists of principals, technical/pedagogical staff, counsellors and others. Teaching personnel refers to classroom teachers.

99. According to MINEDUC (2002), there has been an increase in the teaching work

force from 1998 to 2001. The total number of staff increased from 134,885 in 1998 to 146.918 in 2001. This increase reflects a rise in both the administrative staff (technical pedagogical and managerial functions) and teaching personnel: in 1998 there were 115,435 classroom teachers and 125,615 in 2001, while in terms of

11 See Table 2.5 and Figure 2.2


27

administrative staff the numbers are 19,450 and 21,303, respectively (see Table 2.5).

100. By 2001, the majority of teachers worked in public schools (55%). Only 31% of

them worked in private subsidized schools and the rest (14%) in private schools. This distribution is completely consistent with the current distribution of students’ enrolment.

101. In terms of level of education, 59% of teachers work in primary education and 27%

in secondary education. To some extent, this distribution differs for each type of institution. In public schools, 63% work in primary education and 23% in secondary education; in private subsidized schools the distribution is 58% in elementary and 28% in secondary education; and in private schools 53% at elementary level and 32% at secondary.

Figure 2.2: Basic characteristics of Chilean teachers

15

29

25

22

10

87

13

55

31

14

90

10

86

14

70

30

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Male

Female

Rural

Urban

Other Authorized

Teachers

Private

Private subsidized

Pubblic subsidized

> 1 school

1 school

> 44 hours

44 hours

31 a 43 hours

30 hours

< 30 hours

Source: Education Statistics, Ministry of Education, 2002 2.3.2 Gender

102. There were more female than male teachers working in the education system in


28

2001. The difference is particularly high in pre-school, special education and primary education where 96%, 87% and 77% of teachers are women respectively. At secondary level the difference decreases, where the female teachers proportion is 57%.

2.3.3 Age range and geographical area

103. Regarding the age of teachers, 11% are less than 31 years old, 26% are between 31 and 40 years old, around 33% are between 41 and 50 years old, 25% are between 51 and 60 years old and the remaining 6% are over 60 years old. The elder teachers tend to work at municipal schools, since 42% of teachers in this sector are over 50 years old, while only 16% of teachers in private subsidized schools and 17% in private schools are over that age (see Table 2.6).

104. Teachers working in urban areas were 126,237 in 2001 representing the 85.9% and

teachers working in rural areas were 20.681 and they represent the 14.1%. 2.3.4 Full-time and part-time teachers

105. In 2001, 15% of teachers worked on a part-time basis, while 75% worked between 30 and 44 hours per week, and 10% worked more than 44 hours per week (see point 3.1).

2.3.5 Other personnel

106. Non-teaching staff (teaching assistants, administrative personnel and janitors)12 is subject to Labour Code regulations. They represent approximately 50,000 people in the subsidized sector. Non-teaching staff of municipal schools is subject to the Labour Code regulations except for permissions and medical certificates, these latter regulated by the administrative statute of Municipalities.

107. Act 19.464, published on 1996, establishes regulations and raises the salaries of

non-teaching staff. In addition, it acknowledges their right to participate in training programs like the ones given by MINEDUC.

2.4 Shortage of teachers

108. There are no formal indicators to identify a possible teacher shortage. Nevertheless, it is possible to obtain an approximation based on the number of people qualified to occupy a position as teacher. The concept of qualified teacher can also refer to those people who, despite not having a formal teaching qualification, are authorized to teach.

109. In fact, the number of people authorized to give classes has risen slightly over the

past few years. In 1998 around 6,600 (6% of total teachers) people were authorized

12 See point 6.6.


29

to carry out teaching duties, while the latest figures available show that in the year 2001 this had increased to 14,000 (10%).

110. The University of Chile (1998)13 projected changes of the labour market of teachers

from 1996 up to a period of 10 years, considering aspects relative to the effects of the Educational Reform. The analysis considered that the demand of teachers would tend to expand in net terms due to the increase in the school day and the effects of the curricular reform. On the other hand, the supply of hours of teaching would tend to diminish due to the elimination of working days exceeding 44 hours. Since the model assumes no changes of teacher’s remunerations, then the abovementioned aspects indicate that a deficit of teaching hours is to be expected in the future.

2.5 Organizations involved in teacher’s policies

111. The development of teaching policies involves the Chilean government mainly through the Ministries of Finance and Education, the Teachers Association, and public and private institutions dedicated to develop teacher education.

112. The Teachers Association (Colegio de Profesores de Chile (CP)) is legally an

association of professionals, but in practice, it acts as a union and is affiliated to the CUT or Central Única de Trabajadores (Central Workers’ Union), the most important labour union in Chile. As a member of the CUT, it carries out joint actions with the workers’ associations of the public sector actively participating in the sector’s annual salary adjustment negotiations. Since 1991, the CP has periodically negotiated teachers’ salaries and working conditions with the government and the MINEDUC, despite the fact that teachers’ employers are the municipalities and private stakeholders. However, the State supplies the funds to maintain and improve salaries that are regulated by a national law.

113. The CP congregates most of the teachers of each level of education and, in

particular represents teachers working for municipalities. Currently, the CP groups nearly 80,000 members, part of them retired teachers who maintain the right of participating in this organization. 45,500 members voted in the elections of national, regional and local leaders held in 2001.

114. There are also trade organizations that group teachers of the private education

system, including teaching and administrative personnel and assistants of primary and secondary level schools. These organizations are governed by the work legislation common to the labour market of the private sector. They have the right to collectively negotiate and to call for a strike. According to the current regulations, however, this type of union is only permitted for groups of schools owned by the same employer. School unions may group in national, regional or local associations or federations (some examples are: Metropolitan Teacher Association, Teacher Association of the Bio-Bio Region, Teacher Association of Valparaíso).

13 University of Chile, Department of Economy, Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences. December 1998. Analysis of the Labor Market of Teachers of General Education and Projection to 10 years.


30

Nevertheless, these federations do not have the right to collectively negotiate or to strike and only have a coordination and advisory role with respect to the school unions. Therefore, this type of unions is weak and they represent a minority of the sector, compared to the Chilean CP. The unions affiliated to education worker federations in the private sector gather approximately 2,600 members, although the number of unionised teachers grows if we include teachers that belong to school unions that have not joined the federations.

115. Negotiations on salaries between the Government and the CP have not only been

subscribed to monetary issues but also to other matters related to the teachers’ working conditions that directly affect the processes of the ER. In 2000, the salary conflict was solved without a strike and an agreement was reached about salaries and other matters related to educational policy such teachers’ health care prevention, teacher training improvement, the evaluation the extension of the school day, etc. In 2002, some agreements on specific matters were reached, but there was no consent about the salary improvement. For the year 2003, teachers of the subsidized education sector only obtained a salary rise equivalent to the increase of the Consumer Price Index and despite for the first time in several years teachers did not gain a higher salary increase than the rest of the public sector, there was no fierce reactions from the CP as it usually happened in Chile as well as in most of the Latin American countries facing similar situations.

116. The 341 municipalities in the country, the employers of a significant proportion of

teachers, are significant actors in the generation of policies, regulations and representations in education at local level. Since 1993, municipalities are organized in a non-profit private corporation, the Association of Chilean Municipalities (ACM). The ACM is one of the most important groups of social and political pressure in Chile, because they represent a large number of people involving various political approaches of its members, representing all political segments through mayors and councils throughout the country.

117. The main issue of the ACM’s education program is strengthening the government

financing of their schools, based on a rise in government subsidies as well as a modification of their character and system of allocation, whereas the Government, despite being open to different adjustments, has defended the existence of the current subsidy system.

118. Personnel management has also been a reason for discussion. The ACM has

criticized that improving conditions of its teachers discussed and decided between the MINEDUC and the CP, without the participation of the actual employers of the teachers. The ACM demands that employment and salary conditions should be negotiated locally, funded by improved government subsidies. On the other hand, MINEDUC has stated that the different resources and management capacities of municipalities forces to centralize regulations and interventions in order to defend the political objectives of equity and improvement of education.

119. Another important actor is the group of private schools’ stakeholders that are the


31

employers of another segment of teachers. Grouped under several entities, some of these schools are profit seeking oriented while others represent stakeholders of private schools owned by the Catholic Church. Both groups of institutions share common interests and few discrepancies. The abovementioned institutions jointly defend the principle of freedom of education and private property, and thereby freedom of management which permits the management of private schools. They demand a broader autonomy of schools and a more limited role of the State in the area of education. They criticize the Teachers’ Statute and the labour regulations contained therein. Private employers defend their right to negotiate directly with their personnel and do not like the existence of specific legislation regulating the relationship with their teachers, beyond the provisions in the Labour Code.

120. Finally, other key actors involved in the educational process are higher education

institutions through their link with teachers’ policy. They are responsible to a great extent of the teachers’ training. However, there is not a particular entity gathering the group of institutions that fulfil this function, with the exception of the Council of Deans of Schools of Education (CRFE) at higher education level. Nevertheless, this council congregates only the heads of the faculties of public universities (with government financing).

121. It is important to note that there is not a formal area where the abovementioned

group of educational actors (MINEDUC, the municipalities, the CP, private employers, and teachers’ training institutions) can gather together on a regular basis in order to work hand in hand in the design and application of common educational policies. However, it is important to mention that MINEDUC has been able to establish frequent relationships with each of these representative entities in different degrees, as well as the interactions developed by these entities between themselves.


32

CHAPTER 3: ATTRACTING TALENTED PEOPLE TO THE TEACHING PROFESSION

3.1 The Main Policy Issues

122. A major concern over the past 10 or 12 years has been the quality of people available to be recruited into the teaching profession. Improving the level of qualification of teachers is perceived as the core priority. An influential and widely distributed technical report “The Challenges of Chilean Education in the Prime of the 21st Century”, recommended increasing both public and private expenditure in education and the implementation of a wide scholarship program in order “to make more attractive for young and talented people to enter the teaching profession”14.

123. In addition, although the number of teachers does not represent a big problem at

present, there could be a shortage of teachers in several areas in the future as a result of the Educational Reform and, in particular, because of the extension of the school day.

3.1.1 Becoming a teacher15 Figure 3.1: Alternative Routes for Becoming a Teacher Source: Department of Research and Statistics, Ministry of Education, 2003.

124. The most frequent and common route to teaching is being trained as a teacher by institutions of higher education. Some of these institutions are autonomous universities, others are professional institutes, and others non-autonomous universities. Autonomous universities enrol the vast majority of pre-service teachers. Newly created universities are not autonomous and during their trial

14 “Los Desafíos de la Educación Chilena frente al Siglo XXI”, 1995, p.107 15 See Figure 2.1.

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��


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period are subject to inspection from the Higher Education Council (CES) to ensure the fulfilment of some minimum institutional requirements. Admissions requirements typically involve a high school diploma, with its corresponding high school GPA, and a national college entrance examination, the Academic Ability Test (PAA) that measures academic aptitude (each institution decides what is the minimum score to be accepted). Applicants enter to a degree defined by the teaching level in which they wish to work when they graduate (pre-school, primary or secondary) and/or by the discipline or subject they have decided to teach (Mathematics/Physical Education, Geography etc.). After studying for between 7 to 10 semesters (see Table 3.1), students are awarded the academic degree of Bachelor in Education and receive the professional title of Teacher or Educator (indicating the relevant level or discipline), which enables them to be employed as a teacher in their respective level of education. This represents full time programmes.

125. A variant on the regular route is the “Second Bachelor’s” degree, lasting from 2 to 3

semesters for University graduates who hold a degree in an academic discipline. These degrees that have recently been offered only by 3 Universities, for graduates in disciplines such as Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Literature, Music, Visual Arts and others. Given that graduates master their subject, this second Bachelor’s degree in education provides them with the necessary teaching skills and entitles them as Secondary School Teachers, specializing in the relevant discipline they obtained in their first degree, and facilitates the process to enter the profession.

126. On the other hand, a special route degree course for beginners is offered during the

past few years by certain universities to people with some experience in education, and working in activities compatible to their working hours (i.e. on Saturdays and/or via distance learning). The head teacher of the schools where the teacher is working must accredit this experience. This alternative was created with the purpose of regularizing the situation of the people working as teachers, without the professional degree required, a situation more common in remote rural areas. In some cases, these courses have the same number of hours as the regular degree courses. They take into consideration practical teaching experience as well as the hours spent on the distance-learning course. There are some who criticize the existence of the special route by asserting that, on the one hand, the training quality is lower with the regular route, even though it is organized and taught by officially recognized and autonomous universities, and, on the other hand, that the people who take these courses have academic standards that are inferior to those that are required via the normal entry route. Recently, due to the increase of these courses, they have been strongly questioned by MINEDUC, teachers and regular education students.

127. Finally, people can enter the teaching profession as “authorized”. Chilean

legislation allows employers to ask the provincial offices of MINEDUC for the permission to contract any person without a professional degree, for one school year, renewable. To be able to do this, they have to demonstrate that they are unable to find any qualified teachers to fill a post in their schools. In any case, the minimum requirement to obtain this authorization is to have successfully completed secondary education.


34

128. In the year 2000, almost 90% of the people who were teaching had a teaching

degree, while 9.3% were “authorized”. 3.1.2 Entering to the teaching profession

129. Over the last decade there has been an important increase in the number of students enrolling to become teachers. While in 1983, 35,598 students were taking education courses, in 1990 this number decreased to 25,096. However by 2001 51.038 students are actually enrolled to education careers, which represent 103% of enrolment growth between 1990 and 2001 (MINEDUC, 2001). In particular:

� The tendency towards the predominance of female students still goes on: in 2001,

71.3% of the students were female. � Given that a very high proportion of the teaching students come from secondary

level of education, there have not been important changes in the average admission age, which is normally around 18 and 19.

� There is no information about the admission of students from the indigenous

population; nevertheless, the increase on the availability of scholarships and other assistance programmes for students belonging to minority groups can be considered as evidence of the increasing interest of this group.

� Historically the levels of academic performance of teaching students have been

lower than the average performance of students in other higher education or university areas. However, in the last few years a slight change of this tendency has been observed16 (see Table 3.2).

3.1.3 Proportion of those who qualify as teachers working in the profession

130. Given that contracting teachers is a decentralized process, there are no national statistics available about the destiny of those who leave higher education as qualified teachers. There are some suggestions that the majority of those who are qualified choose to go into teaching; however, regarding the type of qualifications these teachers obtain, there could be some degree of demand for these professionals in the labour market for working in activities other than teaching. Those recently qualified teachers could well opt for work opportunities in other areas at any moment. Nevertheless, it seems that the majority of those who are trained as teachers, seek for teaching as a career for life. There are various reasons for this:

� The personal motivation and vocation developed before and/or during the

teaching training. For example, a survey conducted in 1996 among a sample

16 Avalos, Beatrice, “Profesores para Chile, historia de un proyecto” (Teachers for Chile, history of a

project), MINEDUC 2002.


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of teachers in Santiago found that 86% disagreed with the statement that “sometimes I feel that I have no vocation for this profession” and 79% agreed that “if I could choose a profession again, I would choose teaching” (Corporación Tiempo 2000, 1996). At the same time another survey of a national sample of teachers in 1998 found that 69.9% of those interviewed declared that they carried out their work “motivated by their professional vocation” and 83% recognized that “if they had to choose a new profession it would be as a teacher” (MORI, 1998).

� The fact that most of female teachers are better paid than those female work

force with similar qualifications17, added to the factor that working hours are attractive.

3.1.4 Salaries and benefits

131. In several studies undertaken via the National Socio-Economic Characteristics Survey (CASEN) of 1998, teachers from all levels and type of schools show that their salaries are in the higher per capita income groups compared to other professionals with same qualifications. Actually, 76% of teachers are in the top 40% of income groups while the non-teaching population is only 36%. At the other extreme, only 7.5% of teachers are found in the lower income groups where 40.2% of the population is generally to be found18 (see Table 3.3).

132. As far as the Teachers Act is concerned, teachers in the public sector enjoy financial

benefits related to years of service in the profession, in-service training, management or technical responsibilities, working under difficult conditions (this benefit is also for private subsidized schools) and working in remote areas. All of these are calculated according to determined percentages over the Minimum Basic National Pay (RBMN) or the salary paid on entrance to the profession. The benefits of the rest of the public sector are similar to those of the teachers in the public sector, i.e. higher salaries related to teachers’ years of service or experience, management responsibility, training, working performance, areas previously worked and other factors including the Ministries or services worked in or in some cases according to the profession or function.

133. Moreover, it is important to note that teachers also enjoy a number of non-financial

benefits of different types such as: first, longer vacation period compared to the most regular workers, both in the private and public sectors. Second, teachers work less hours than the average worker: teachers of the subsidized schools can work nominally a maximum of 44 hours per week compared with an average of 48 hours

17 Mizala y Romaguera (2000) show with an econometrical simulation that female teacher with 16 or less years of education (8 semesters in higher education) are better paid than women with the same number of years of education. For 17 years of education (10 semesters in higher education) the results were not conclusive. 18 A. Mizala y P. Romaguera, 2001.


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of other workers. Finally, there are scholarships in higher education for the children of teachers.

134. The Chilean legislation sets the rules for the teachers’ working conditions in all

levels of regular education, both for those working at the municipal sector and the private sector. While the former are mainly regulated by the Teachers Act (and in several matters by the rules and regulations pertaining to other relevant sectors) the latter by the Administrative Act and by the Labour Code. Generally speaking, the Teachers Act establishes norms for the teachers in the municipal sector in specific terms similar to those in the Administrative Act, while those teachers in the private sector are normalized by terms that are more appropriate to the Labour Code but with several benefits that are lacking for the workers in the public sector.

135. Work stability is high for the teachers in the public sector and for public servants in

general and is less so for those teachers working in the private sector. In each case, however, all enjoy more stability than the rest of the workers in the economy.

136. Officials who work in the public administration generally belong to a career

structure formed by scales, where they advance up the ladder through ascending grades and categories and through regulations that take into consideration training, years of service, responsibilities or types of functions, regular evaluation and other rights. At the other end of the spectrum, workers in the private sector have the right to free contractual negotiation and market conditions, with basic labour regulations. According to the Teachers Act, teachers in the public sector enter the profession through a series of open public vacancy announcements, in the same way as the officials in public administration, but without their scaled career ladder. Nevertheless, they progress over time through two ways: progressive improvement in their salaries according to experience and the accumulation of training courses, and by moving around via vacancies to positions as principals of schools or to positions with technical responsibility.

137. The teachers in the public sector share the system of administrative permissions or

licenses with others working in the public sector. Neither teachers in the private sector nor those working in the private economy have this right. On the other hand, maternity licenses are common rights for all sectors.

138. The labour legislation guarantee all teachers the right to up to two months of

vacations between the end of one school year and the beginning of another, although during these two months they can be obliged to do in-service training. The rest of the public servants are only entitled to vacations of 15 weekdays, increased up to 20 days for those who have 15 years or more of service, and increased up to 25 for those with 20 years of service. On the other hand, those working in the private sector of the economy have the right to only a 15 working day holiday irrespective of length of service.

139. Teachers of the subsidized schools (municipal and private subsidized schools) can

work for up to 44 hours per week for the same employer, a situation similar to the


37

one of public servants working full time. In the private sector of the economy, and also for the non-subsidized schools, the maximum regular workload is 48 hours per week, and the overtime work can be paid at a higher rate than the normal hourly one.

140. Concerning the evolution of the abovementioned benefits, and the rights or

conditions of the service on entry to up to 5 or 10 years of service, the most significant point in this respect is that municipal school teachers have the right to receive a reward for years of service, which, increases the entry salary by 6.7% on average for the first two years of service and a 6.6% for each additional two years, in such a way that after 5 years of service there is an increase of 13.5% and after 10 years 33.6%, up to a maximum of 100% after 30 years of service. Those who work in the public administration have an incremental system based on years of service but less developed than the teachers’ system. On the other hand, in the private sector, whether one is a teacher or not, there are no obligatory rules in this respect.

3.2 Policy initiatives and their impact

141. The Act for Professionals in Education was approved in 1991, attempting, on the one hand, to repair the deterioration that teaching had experienced since 1980 and, on the other, to assist processes of professional improvement, which would prepare and facilitate efforts to improve the quality and equity of public education. It legally recognizes the “professional” character of teaching, ensuring a strong amount of stability to those employed in public sector education. In private schools, a greater stability compared to the general labour market was provided.

142. Through this Act, the Government made a commitment to finance a progressive

improvement in the salaries of teachers at municipal schools as well as teachers working for private subsidized schools. In ten years since its enactment, from 1991 to 2001, the minimum wage19 for teachers working at municipal schools has increased in real terms by 174%, while the average salary has increased in 126% (MINEDUC, 2002). For teachers working at private subsidized schools, the minimum salary has increased in 144% in the same period.

143. Moreover, in the first half of the 90s different programs aimed to improve skills and

training of those teachers who were working in the poorest and most handicapped urban and rural schools. These programs have been extended to private subsidized schools since 1995. They also included an increasing effort to give teachers access to information technology and train them in how to teach it.

144. Within the framework of the Educational Reform, a public policy of “strengthening

the teaching profession” has been undertaken since 1996, even though its structure has been designed from the beginning of the 90s. This includes among other things:

19 Figure referred to teachers that work 44 hour per week.


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- The FFID, carried out since 1997 in 17 teacher’s training centres, which are attended by almost 80% of student teachers, with a strong public investment in improving materials and the academic content of the courses. This program will be described in more detail in the following sections (see point 4.7).

- A massive program to instruct teachers in the purpose, contents and education

material of the new learning program adopted by the Reform, and a program of scholarships that involves tutorships and internships in other countries (Program for Scholarships to Study Abroad - see point 4.6).

- An reward to the excellence for the collective performance of groups of teachers at

the subsidized schools, according to the National Performance Evaluation System (SNED), which evaluates performance and other features in primary and secondary schools every two years, distributing a monetary reward equivalent to the 13th annual salary to the best schools in each region up to 25% of the regional enrolment (see point 6.7).

145. The policy of “strengthening the teaching profession” went hand in hand with the

ER that was launched at the same time, in order to have a deep overhaul of the teaching and study programs in operation at the time and to significantly widen the resources available to public education. The major impact of extending the schools day on teachers has to do with an increase in the working hours of contracted teachers.

146. Taken together, these improvements and investments can be major attempts to

increase the desirability of becoming teachers. Added to the foregoing reasons, we can add the existence of a public policy to help and support people of medium and low income to finance their studies at universities with public funds. Entrance to higher education as a whole has increased by 77.6% between the years 1990 and 2000. In addition to helping low-income students, scholarships started to be awarded in 1998 to promote the entrance into the teaching profession of students with outstanding performance, who wish to study education20. The scholarship finances the teacher student’s complete career in any university or professional institute of Chile. The program also contemplates financing complementary scholarships of educational material in the event that there are sufficient funds available. In 1998, 633 students applied to 122 scholarships; in 2002, 3.942 students applied to 397 scholarships21. Table 3.5 shows the increase in new enrolment in the careers of education at primary and secondary levels.

147. Conversely, there is no program currently offering incentives to former teachers to

return to the profession. On the contrary, over the past few years, special bonuses have been offered as an incentive for teachers to retire once they have reached the necessary age requirements. Conditions imposed to obtain this compensation package have made more difficult for teachers to return to teaching profession.

20 See Table 3.3 21 See Table 3.4


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148. Similarly, there is not any particular attempt to attract foreign teachers to pre-

school, primary or secondary education nor is it being contemplated in the medium term.

3.3 Priority problems

149. One of the most important problems observed in the teaching market is a teachers’ salary structure that has been historically the main reason for discouraging new entrants to the profession. It is important to point out that MINEDUC is actually dealing with a problem that is aimed more to improve the quality of the teaching workforce rather than to increase systematically the numbers of trained teachers. In fact, in Chile at present there are practically no teaching positions to fill in and, as we have already mentioned, those that are in teaching positions have at least completed secondary education. Nevertheless, the challenge lies in attracting quality. In other words, trying to get a sufficient stock of graduates onto teaching courses in higher education and/or eventually a stock of people with university training in other areas, which could be suitable for teaching. Therefore, an improvement in salaries is decisive to make sure that at least a part of the best students in secondary education choose to study teaching at university level and so that professionals or qualified people in other areas also become interested in entering the profession.

3.4 Some actors’ perceptions

150. In relation to attracting skilled people to the teaching profession, the major issue for the President of the National Corporation of Subsidized Private Schools (CONACEP) is the salary. He also thinks that the teaching profession is developing under hard working conditions. As an example, he states that the excessive number of pupils per class and the scarce number of hours of planning and reflexion outside the class that teachers should face are urgent problems to tackle in order to improve teachers’ working conditions from an education policy perspective.

151. Similarly, the core problems for the President of Federation of Private Education

Institutions (FIDE) are the teachers’ working conditions, the excessive number of pupils per class, and the almost non-existent space for the pedagogical reflexion and the research.

152. The CP representatives state the importance of beginning to send the right signs

about the initial training, both in terms of its quality and its strictness. In their opinion, the use of alternative ways of training is not a good sign. Additionally, they also consider relevant to improve the working conditions in which teachers actually perform, but not only in terms of income but also in terms of increasing the time dedicated to the teaching reflection (outside the class) and reducing the number of pupils per class.

153. They explain that there is an improvement in the PAA scores of those applying to


40

teaching careers and point out that this can explained by the increasing relevance given to the teacher’s role by the new youth generations, specially in terms of its social relevance. There is also a vision that compared to other social or humanistic professions the teaching career is at present offering more job places.


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CHAPTER 4: EDUCATING, DEVELOPING AND CERTIFYING TEACHERS 4.1 Main policy concerns

154. The major concern is related to the quality of teacher education. By 1996/1997, there was a broad national consensus that initial teacher training was not producing the teachers demanded by the national ER and the new imperatives for national development. Different evaluations of teacher training programs led to the conclusion that it suffered from a number of problems, and that insufficient upgrading of resources was affecting the quality of graduate teachers. These problems included:

- An excessively fragmented and heterogeneous curricular structure, organized in courses requiring students to spend most of their time attending lectures and little time on independent learning or contact with situational learning

- Teachers/ trainers who had not been able to update in educational terms for a variety of reasons

- Fewer opportunities for younger teachers to enter educational institutions - Lack of equipment and resources suitable to the demands of modern teaching - Fewer students with a vocation for teaching deciding to enter training institutions.

4.2 Requirements to qualify for employment as a teacher

155. The major requirement to qualify for employment as a teacher is to hold a professional qualification as a teacher for any educational level. This qualification is given to any person who fulfils the requirements defined by the institution from which he or she has graduated. The qualifications that are typically offered in this area include: early child education (children from 3 months- kindergarten), primary education teacher (grades 1st-8th), secondary education in various subjects (grades 9th-12th), and special education. There are few institutions offering programs to prepare teachers to work in grades 1st-12th in areas such as physical education, art, religion, and music.

156. Since 1990 to obtain a professional teacher qualification, students are required to

possess an academic degree or bachelor degree (a 4-year or 8 semester university-based program). After that, either with few courses more or together with the academic degree, they can achieve the professional teacher qualification. However, professional institutes that were offering teacher training programs by 1990 could continue offering those programs, thus giving the professional qualification without the academic degree. Several universities have developed special programs for people who have obtained the professional qualification from a professional institute but who also want to get an academic degree.

157. Private and public schools are required to employ teachers who hold a professional

teachers qualification. However, in response to a request from a potential employer, MINEDUC can give to specific persons a temporary permission to teach. These temporary teachers should have completed secondary school. Additionally, the person may show evidence of a completed teacher-training course and/or prior work


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experience in teaching, and/or an academic university degree in a non-teaching field (see point 3.1).

4.3 Initial teacher training education

158. Currently, there are 61 institutions that offer teacher education in 342 different programs. Universities in regular programs prepare the vast majority of teachers: 57% of those programs are developed in state-funded universities, 30% in private universities (non state-funded) and 13% in professional institutes.

159. Admission requirements typically involve a secondary school diploma and a Higher

Education Admission Test that measures academic aptitude22. The length of the programme varies according to the teaching field (early childhood, primary, secondary and special education). For primary education teachers, it runs from 7 to 10 terms and for secondary education teachers it varies from 6 to 11 terms.

160. There is no information about the structure of initial teacher education across the 61

institutions that enrol students for an education qualification. Nevertheless, there is data for 17 institutions that have participated in the FFID since 1997. Currently, these institutions enrol around 70% of all pre-service teachers.

161. Primary education teachers spend an average of 30% of the time in pedagogical

training, 11% in general training, 20% in field experience and 39% in professional preparation. Secondary school teachers spend an average of 50% of the time in pedagogical training, 10% in general training, 18% in field experience and 22% in professional preparation.

4.4 Training for other professionals

162. Nearly 30 alternative programs are currently enrolling people who can demonstrate that they have had previous work experience in schools. These programs are shorter than regular ones and most typically enrol people seeking a professional title in early childhood, primary, or technical/vocational secondary education. These programs follow an alternative curriculum, involving special admissions procedures, credit for prior work experiences, and delivering classes through distance education via correspondence or web-based, and/or during 8 hours on a Saturday.

163. In addition, as a part of the FFID, 3 institutions started offering a 2-3-term program

to people who have already obtained a university undergraduate degree in a discipline and who want to become secondary school teachers in that discipline. Nevertheless, this alternative represents a very small portion of students in teacher education; only 11%23 of the total enrolment in 2001 went to an alternative program.

22 Each higher education institution sets their own minimum score to accept applicants to their programmes. 23 All students participating in alternative programs are included.


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164. A couple of institutions offer special programs for those wishing to go into the

teaching area after obtaining a university degree in another academic field, and teachers who want to change fields.

165. There are scholarships available to people who have worked as teachers’ aides in

programs in high-risk areas and willing to enrol in a regular teacher preparation program. These are the scholarships that have been created to promote the entrance of outstanding students into the teaching careers mentioned in point 3.2.

166. In addition, there are alternative teacher preparation programs for people who teach

in vocational secondary schools. Often these are people who have training and work experience as electricians, mechanics, seamstresses, beauticians, carpenters and so forth, and teach at these vocational secondary schools.

4.5 Induction programs

167. Currently, there are no formal induction programs, nor from the government nor from the schools. Some of the institutions in the FFID program started some initiatives in this area but it is too early to be able to assess their impact.

4.6 Professional development options in-service training

168. During the past few years, different opportunities of professional development have been opened up for teachers both in institutions of higher education and others like MINEDUC itself via different programs and the CPEIP. The actions developed by MINEDUC are aimed fundamentally at helping teachers to adapt themselves to the changes envisioned in the ER. Among these actions we can mention:

- The Communal Committees for the professional development of pre-school

teachers are meetings for teachers work at that level with materials that should be tested and evaluated within classroom. Action is focused on the contents and processes required to work in pre-school institutions.

- Workshops for teachers in primary level schools located in poor areas through the

900 Schools Program, monthly meetings for groups of teachers in rural micro-centres, and professional work groups for teachers in secondary education. All these training experiences give opportunities to teachers to reflect about their pedagogical practices and encourage discussions about teaching/learning strategies.

- Workshop to train teachers for the Enlaces, the IT education program, organized for

groups of 20 teachers per school during 2 years. These sessions are carried out by 24 universities, and total 1,000 monitors and 200 technicians that support teachers on-site. By 2000, approximately 70,000 teachers have been trained representing 50% of the total teachers in the country.


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- A Program for Basic Teacher Training has allowed approximately 40,000 teachers per year in primary and secondary education to participate in courses aimed at acquiring a basic knowledge and understanding of the new study programs that are part of the curriculum reform program (1997-2002). A similar process has been started in 2002 for the new pre-school curriculum.

- A Program for Scholarships to Study Abroad has given the opportunity for 5,000

class teachers and administrators to participate in 5 to 6 week-long courses related to relevant themes for our educational reform program at centres of academic excellence abroad.

- Teacher exchanges within the country through the National Teachers Program

allows groups of teachers from two schools to undertake one-week-long visits between themselves. Approximately 1,470 teachers have participated in this program over the past two years (2001-2002).

- Community Teacher Training Workshops based on a group of primary schools

teachers from a particular learning sub-sector under the leadership of a teacher chosen by the community, trained by CPEIP and supported with the appropriate materials. During 2001 and 2002 there have been around 300 of these workshops involving 7,500 teachers.

- The FFID program, whose main purpose is the introduction of processes to enhance

three key areas related to the quality of teaching practice: the quality of students who enter to teacher training for the different system levels; the quality of the future teachers that have been trained by means of a series of actions; and the adaptation of the teacher training to the requirements of the educational changes that have occurred in the system. This improvement program shall be described in depth in point 4.7 of this document.

169. The need for training teachers are defined, on the one hand, by the curriculum

changes and on the other by consultations with teachers at the end of a particular training period. There is also a constant dialogue with the CP in terms of the different MINEDUC programs mentioned above.

170. The different training programs have their own evaluation systems generally related

to the levels of satisfaction that the participants show. Nevertheless, there is a lack of proper monitoring and evaluation that would enable to judge the real effectiveness of teacher training in relation to changes in pedagogical practice and improvements in students learning.

171. A training reward is considered in the Teachers Act, which allows the salaries of

public sector teachers to increase according to the training courses they have passed during their professional career. Teachers can obtain this incentive due to their participation in the training programs that MINEDUC as well as for postgraduate courses and programs that other institutions offer. However, no provisions have been made to link the level of professional development reached with the


45

requirements to get accreditation or to ascend the career ladder. Additionally there is no clear evidence as to whether the participation of teachers in the different training programs leads to improved performance, given that there is no system of evaluation in place to measure this. Nevertheless, steps are being taken to create an evaluation system. Meanwhile, a Reward for Excellent Teaching (AEP) has been created in 2002 including a salary incentive for those municipal and private subsidized teachers who voluntary submit themselves to an accreditation as excellent classroom teachers24. There is a feeling that this is a good way of linking the professional development programs directly to an improvement in classroom teaching.

4.7 Policy initiatives and their impact: improving teacher education

4.7.1 The Implementation of the FFID Program25

172. This program was the result of a broad national consensus that initial teacher training was not delivering the teachers needed for the national educational reform program and the new imperatives for national development. Some evidence shows that in the last years formative programmes for teachers developed by higher education institutions had been experimenting an important quality deterioration, and therefore the number of applicants to these programmes have decreased. This has implied that the formative institutions have reduced the standards of the admission criteria26. This deterioration would be explained by the following factors: a) weaknesses in the curriculum structure (heterogeneous and fragmented contents, too many lecturers and few applied classes, etc.; b) characteristics and behaviour of the academic staff (old academic staff with low qualification and minimal skills updating, with not much contact with schools, etc.; c) low academic level of the students enrolling to these programmes measured by PAA and secondary level marks; and d) the small amount of teacher support and learning resources available to the institutions.

173. In 1997, MINEDUC set aside US$25 millions to be awarded on a competitive basis.

It invited teacher-training institutions to submit proposals for innovations that would strengthen initial teacher training requiring that the projects would address substantive improvements in the structure, content, and processes of their training programs as well as an enhancement in the quality of teacher educators.

24 See annex 6 25 Data source: FDI Program 26 Avalos, Beatrice,1999. “Mejoramiento de la formación inicial docente. Análisis de las necesidades,

contenidos y factores limitantes relacionados con proyectos de cambio formulados por instituciones universitarias” en Juan Eduardo García-Huidobro (editor), La Reforma Educacional Chilena. Proa, Madrid.

Avalos, Beatrice y María Eugenia Nordenflycht (coordinadoras), 1999. “La formación de Profesores. Perspectivas y Experiencias”. Santillana. Santiago.

Aylwin, Pilar, 1999. “Informe sobre la situación de las carreras de pedagogía. 1994-1999” en Pablo Pérsico (coordinador), Informe sobre la Educación Superior en Chile. Corporación de Promoción Universitaria, CPU. Santiago

Cox y Gysling, 1990. “La formación del profesorado en Chile. 1842-1987” CIDE. Santiago.


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Additionally, it was suggested that they consider improvements in: teaching resources, the field experience component, recruitment and retention of academically talented students for teacher training programs, induction, and closer relationships with schools and communities, as well as closer alignment with the primary and secondary national curriculum. Among the 36 institutions that submitted a proposal, 17 were awarded funds to implement the innovations proposed over the 1998-2001 four-year period. At the time the funds were awarded, these 17 institutions enrolled over 80% of all teacher educators. Because of a late start, the program ended in 2002. Today MINEDUC is studying a new version of this program.

174. A second component of this initiative is Program of Scholarships to Outstanding

Teaching Students27.

175. In terms of impact, the FFID has shown a positive impact on:

- Improving the quantity and quality of students entering pre-service training programmes. In addition, there has been an increase of around 200% in the number of scholarships awarded between 1998 and 2002. This reflects an increase in the number of applicants who meet the academic requirements for eligibility. Likewise, universities that participated in this program designed a test to measure the academic abilities of incoming students, specifically their Spanish and Math skills. A group of six institutions took the lead on this, appointing a committee of experts in Mathematics, Spanish, and the construction of tests. This group visited ETS in New Jersey, the institution that served as the technical consultant for the development of the test. After the test was piloted, it was administered to all incoming students at the 17 institutions in 2002. Results showed significant differences in the Spanish abilities of students admitted to various universities and degree courses as well as a fairly widespread deficiency in Math skills. As a result of this, universities have been encouraged to design and implement programs that can help students overcome the deficiencies detected.

- Building capacity for change and innovation among teachers. Chilean teacher

trainers had unprecedented opportunities to develop professional relationships with peers from leading international institutions. Among the institutions that hosted short-term study programs focused on specific aspects of teacher training are several universities in the USA (UCLA, University of Northern Iowa, Oregon and Colorado), Spain (Barcelona, Cordoba, Seville, and Granada), Israel (Haifa), France (Centre International d’Etudes Pedagogiques), UK (Reading, Brighton), Germany (Heidelberg), and Canada (Montreal, Toronto), as well as several in Latin America (Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia).

- Improving the academic/educational qualifications of teacher trainers. There has

been an increase in the number of teacher trainers holding Master’s degrees and

27 See annex 7


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Doctor’s degrees. In fact, in 1997 only 27% of teacher trainers held a Masters degree and 13% held a Doctor’s degree: by 2001, 45% of them held a Master’s degree and 20% a Doctor’s degree.

- Improving the curriculum and pedagogy. 10 out of 17 institutions introduced a new

curriculum and 7 out of 17 engaged in a major reorganization of their existing one. An overview across institutions showed that changes introduced were guided by the following principles: (a) to update content and methodology derived from constructivism; (b) the integration of theory and practice; (c) the teaching practice throughout the program; (d) an interdisciplinary approach (e) depth over breath; (f) focus on problems and (g) a transversal approach to address values in education. Institutions differed in the extent that any one of these principles was more prevalent in their new or revised curriculum and in the success with which these principles were implemented. With regards to pedagogy, institutions started implementing new approaches that fostered reflection, inquiry, autonomy, decision-making and problem solving in a real context.

- Improving the infrastructure and resources available for teaching and learning. The

infrastructure and resources available to teacher trainers and their students were enhanced as a result of the funding provided. Since there is no data on the situation existing prior to the implementation of the program, it is only possible to report on the amount of educational resources that were purchased with program funds. On average, between 1997 and 2000, 48% of the budget was spent on improving the infrastructure (buildings, computers, textbooks, etc.) in support of teacher training.

- Defining standards for assessing quality. As the program implementation

progressed, it became more evident the need to develop standards that could assist the institutions and MINEDUC to monitor the quality of the graduating students. This information would provide the feedback necessary to fine tunning the innovations as well as some quality assurance for prospective employers. The National Coordination Office assembled an ad-hoc committee to develop Performance Standards. These were developed with the help of ETS and Lawrence Ingvarson. Teaching responsibilities are divided into four broad areas, each including 5 to 6 criteria. These Standards were circulated widely in the educational community and are currently being used by the National Accreditation Commission as well as the participating institutions. These standards have also been instrumental to develop the Framework for Good Teaching, which will be used to evaluate the performance of in-service teachers.

176. There are several areas in which the impact of FFID has not been as great as

expected. A first area is in the implementation of new programs of studies. Due to the difficulties in renewing the teacher trainer force, some teacher trainers have resisted adopting a new curriculum and many have adapted rather than adopted it. Currently, the average age of teacher trainers is 55 years old and they have been teaching for over 20 years. A sharp decline in income following retirement, coupled with the fact that there is no mandatory retirement age has not helped to hire new and younger members of staff.


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177. A second area is aligning a program of studies with the national Curriculum

Framework for pre-school, primary and secondary education. The national curriculum was developed gradually over the last few years before a complete revision made by the universities. This created a difference between teacher training and teacher requirements. Additionally, most typically in the primary education programs, teachers are prepared as general teachers who can work from Grades 1 to 8. Thus, teachers training results in little depth for the broad disciplines they are expected to teach. Finally, most often, programs do not offer or require a minor concentration in a content area. As a result, many new teachers do not have enough depth of knowledge in the content areas they are expected to teach in grades 1–8.

178. A third area is the development of the field experience component. One of the most

significant widespread changes has been in the field practice component. Universities became aware that learning to teach is enhanced when pre-service teachers have opportunities to conduct their learning experiences in schools early on in their preparation. Asking students to learn in and from practice in schools has created new challenges because traditionally students’ first encounter with a classroom was during teaching and school teachers were asked just to “loan” their classroom. The new field practice approach has demanded that schools take an active role in teacher preparation, a role that requires that universities build in the capacity to assume their responsibilities to help in this. Finding individual teachers who commit their time to working with pre-service teachers has not been hard but they tend to do this as individuals rather than as part of their institutions’ commitment to educational improvement through collaboration with a university. In this context, many schools do not offer student teachers the opportunities to practice the broad range of responsibilities codified in the performance standards. Creating a cadre of cooperating teachers who receive specific preparation for this role has not been institutionalised (part of the regular budget) within most universities and school districts. If there are no institutional funds to compensate cooperating teachers, universities feel rather constrained in the amount of time and commitment they can request from them.

179. A fourth area is related to coordination among teacher trainers. In some institutions,

faculties from different disciplines do not see themselves as teacher trainers or the faculties of Education themselves have not updated their programs and pedagogy, and remain far removed from what is going on in 12 grade schools. Although in some institutions we have seen increased collaboration, still in too many cases students experiment a disjunction between the teaching/learning approaches promoted and enacted in the Colleges that house the Majors and those experienced on their education courses.

4.7.2 Other initiatives

180. A second initiative is the provision of competitive funds to develop innovations that

will improve the quality of programs offered by universities. The Government, through the MINEDUC’s Higher Education Division, has provided funds to


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government-funded institutions. Teacher training programs have been modestly successful in gaining access to these funds, as the universities must first decide which of their programs they want to strengthen. Institutional priorities have tended not to be in teacher training, given the funding available through the Program for Improving the Quality of Initial Teacher Training.

181. Finally, a third initiative is the accreditation of all teacher-training programs. The

Undergraduate National Accreditation Commission has invited teacher-training institutions to seek, on a voluntary basis, the accreditation of teacher-training programs.

4.8. High priorities for future policy development in training and certifying

teachers

182. A first priority issue for the development of future teacher education and certification policies is the concept of quality as the core of the certification or accreditation carried out.

183. The principal policy options to which the Government has committed itself attempt

to assure the community a good quality school education as the core of the educational offer. To achieve this is necessary to assure good quality teacher training, which has led to undertake a collaboration process between tertiary education institutions in order to formulate common standards, which will be complemented with standards of disciplinary contents for specialized teacher training, depending on the areas they work for. The principal groups involved are the Centres of Higher Education that train these teachers represented by the CP, the managers of subsidized schools and the MINEDUC.

184. Higher Education Centres must certify that their graduates are high quality

professionals trained to solve and provide significant knowledge to their students. For this purpose they demand special support from the Government, especially of resources to conduct educational research. The emphasis will be on offering open and flexible training structures so that in the different stages of their professional lives teachers will have the opportunity of further training and improving, or eventually restarting new training on the basis of the new opportunities that society deems appropriate to develop.

185. It is essential for subsidized school managers that their students leave their schools

with appropriate competences and abilities to introduce themselves in a creative manner in the social, labour, political and cultural environment. To achieve this, they need to have highly competent teachers.

186. On the other hand, MINEDUC must make sure that good quality education is

provided consistently with the current curricular framework. To this purpose, it must be concerned of offering high-quality training to assure that students learn.


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187. The CP should be concerned about the professional level of its members and ensure that they are offered good professional continued training conditions, along with it responsibility of being concerned about the interests of its members in a democratic society.

4.9 Some stakeholders’ perceptions

188. Concerning the initial training, the President of CONACEP believes that the Universities in general are not providing satisfactory answers to the kind of professionals the educational system needs. On the one hand, university careers should include professional practice during the first years so the teaching vocation can be detected and fostered. On the other, universities should form professionals with critic disposition, with deep understanding of the curriculum and with managing abilities.

189. In relation with teachers’ development, CONACEP points out that it should be

clearly specified the incentives and penalties currently present in the system, i.e. the provision of clear signs within the system.

190. About teachers’ certification, he also considers that it should be associated with the

teachers’ salaries and, therefore, the recently created AEP is thought to be a positive sign from MINEDUC. They also think that the methods of training of other professionals wishing to be teachers should be more comprehensible. Similarly, they stress a lack of knowledge provision to face the class reality. These alternative methods to become a teacher as a policy issue would not be the most appropriate.

191. In terms of the different teacher training programs that MINEDUC offers,

CONACEP considers that these should be improved both in quality and relevance. In their opinion, the school through its Technical-pedagogical Unit (UTP) and its principal are the ones in charge of deciding the kind of training their teachers should receive. They do not agree with salary increases because the quality varies considerably from one course to the other but they do suggest salary increases tied to performance.

192. The President of FIDE believes in the implementation of all those initiatives

attempting to improve the quality of new teachers training, studying the initial training curricula and determining in which way they are responding to the new demands, and involving the teacher learners in earlier pedagogical practices. They also suggest the creation of a link between schools and the universities so that the latter provide useful support and experiences to all the schools.

193. Regarding the methods of training other professionals wishing to be teachers, these

should be framed within special programs of pedagogy, including professional practice and a thesis. The current alternatives to become a teacher need to be distinguished between the institutions that have been able to renew teachers’ training within the ER framework (using MINEDUC resources) and the institutions that promote an “instant” training, with a low academic requirements, which can be


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a negative factor to promote a qualitative and equitable education, in particular for the poorest areas of the country.

194. Teacher certification must be a wide process contemplating a diversity of options, in

which various institutions can certify in a way that only the quality of these institutions deserve to be considered by the schools in order to choose such accreditation. This certification should not be compulsory, but rather be rewarded through economic incentives.

195. FIDE also thinks that the improvement policies designed by MINEDUC are

submitted in a reductionism way, because they are only circumscribed to the training for the development of MINEDUC plans and programs. These should be widened for teachers’ preparation in design and curriculum development, so that they will be able to design curriculum content, which should imply the elaboration of curriculum proposals designed by the schools on their own.

196. In their opinion, teacher training must be linked to the solution of the problems

faced by teachers in their daily teaching practice. Therefore teachers and schools have the first priority in terms of the kind of training or enhancement they should get. They also consider that the salary growth linked to teacher training is necessary to its encouragement but it also should be related to teacher evaluation. Any salary rise must be associated to teachers’ functions and performance so that it can succeed in improving performance standards.

197. Likewise, the CP representatives consider that teacher initial formation should be at

university level and of excellence. In this sense, the State must certify the quality of the Universities, so the certification should fall to these institutions but not to the profession.

198. On the topic of the structure of the initial teacher training currently existing, the CP

disagrees with the regularizing of diplomas or degrees. Yet, they do not show resistance against the methods of special degrees (“a 2nd bachelor degree”). They agree on later training for other professionals wanting to be teachers but dislike the existence of short programmes or courses that, in their opinion, rather seek to increase funds to the universities instead of giving a real training to teachers. Besides, they do not correspond to the need of a lack of teachers.

199. Regarding the alternative ways to become a teacher, they do not consider as

satisfactory the methods of distance learning since they think pedagogy in a tight connection with the collective knowledge creation within the class and teachers’ duties working in an environment where both a connection with a teachers group and the school, and a face-to-face relationship with the pupils are developed. Because of this, the pedagogic formation needs a collective in situ creation. Additionally, Internet programmes developed in foreign countries might show problems in terms of relevance of curriculum content and its adaptability to the national culture.


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200. In terms of the teacher training programs supplied by MINEDUC, they criticize the improvement policy fostered by MINEDUC based on what the higher education institutions have to offer. For them, these institutions do not possess complete information about the school world, thus they do not have a clear picture of the training requisites. They think that it is necessary to define a better policy in this sense. This critical point of view goes beyond certain initiatives since they still think that some of them are adequate and relevant.

201. In terms of who decides the type of training offered to teachers, they consider that

teachers’ involvement is important in this decision even if it is decided collectively between school, Municipality and Government. They also believe that teachers should not pay for their own training.

202. On the other hand, they consider relevant to subsidize teacher training in order to

democratise its access and the professional development but pointing out that training and skills certification must not be mixed up.


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CHAPTER 5: RECRUITING, SELECTING AND ASSIGNING TEACHERS 5.1 Main policy concerns

203. Regarding the teachers’ selection, the fundamental concern has to do with the mechanisms for selecting teachers, in particular in the municipal sector, where a rigorous evaluation of candidates is not carried out and, therefore, the best candidates might not be selected. A second matter has to do with the “special route” or “regularization courses” and the mechanisms for special training for not qualified people wishing to work as teachers in those places where there is a lack of qualified personnel.

5.2 Teachers’ contracts

204. In the municipal sector, the Teachers Act regulates the selection of teachers. The most general way is employing teachers on an official contract, which gives them greater stability. In order to employ teachers using an official contract in a public school, they have to apply through an open vacancy announcement. These announcements have to be publicized nationally at least twice a year. At the same time, teachers can also be contracted to undertake temporary work replacing other qualified teachers or as a trial period for demonstrating their capabilities. Replacement teachers cannot exceed 20% of the total hours of the municipal teaching staff nor carry out management functions.

205. In the private subsidized and non-subsidized schools, the selection of teachers is

governed by the regulations of the Labour Code. The most common format is the “open-ended contract” with no ending date and which is normally extended for one or more years. There is also a fixed term contract that has duration of one teacher’s working year (March to December) unless the person has been contracted during the year to replace another teacher. The contract can be renewed for another working year but after that it becomes indefinite. To contract a teacher for a special activity, which by its very nature is less than a school year, the contract must stipulate a beginning and termination date. Replacement contracts can also be made in the private sector.

5.3 Assigning teachers

206. There are no rules and regulations governing the assignment of teachers from the Ministry of Education to schools. Each teacher has to apply to the school of his/her choice: in practice the teacher chooses where he/she wants to work, as there is no national employer. There are only assignment procedures from public or private administrative boards, which select and contract teachers for the school under their control. There is also no formal national planning mechanism to carry out an equitable distribution of teachers. Today, everything is regulated by the supply and demand in the teachers’ labour market. In this regard, MINEDUC establishes salary


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incentives to increase teacher supply in isolated or difficult areas (poor, marginal, rural areas). These incentives are28:

- Geographical Reward: this incentive consists of a percentage increase granted to

schools located in a province or territory remote from urban centres or big cities. It is calculated on the basis of a percentage of the Minimum Basic National Pay (RBMN)29 and varies according to the distance between the schools or locality and the urban cente.

- Reward for Working in Difficult Conditions: this is a grant for teachers working in

selected schools according to conditions of geographical isolation, marginality, extreme poverty, difficult access, and difficult performance. It may be up to a maximum of 30% on the basis of the RBMN.

- Reward for Managing Rural Teachers: this reward is granted to teachers of multi-

grade schools that have a management function. 5.4 Teaching vacancies

207. Given the decentralized nature of the system, vacancies are decided by each school’s stakeholder under some criteria defined by the Ministry, which are related principally to maximum class size, maximum contract hours and maximum teaching hours (described in 6.6.). In private schools, each school administrator decides the selection process of teachers. In the case of the municipalities, they have to form commissions on an annual basis, qualified in drawing up public vacancies announcements for teachers, technical pedagogical teachers as well as teachers for management positions at pre-school, secondary and secondary levels. The members of these commissions are:

o The director of the Municipal Education Department (DAEM) or their

representative; o The principal of the school where the vacancy is open; o Other principal of a school of the same municipality randomly chosen; and o Two teachers of the subject in question also randomly chosen.

208. The interviewed candidates get points according to their professional achievements, years of teaching experience and any additional training they may have. For management or technical-teaching posts, preferences must be given to those with certified studies in administration, supervision, evaluation or vocational work. Directors of DAEM are also required to have an academic degree in their specialty area unless there are no interested candidates. The commission has to rank candidates in descending order and the respective Municipality mayor has five days

28 Figures in pesos of 2001. 29 In 2001 the RBMN totals Ch$5,927 per hour for primary education and Ch$6,238 per hour for secondary education.


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to nominate the first placed candidate and, in case of offer refusal, to choose the next candidate in the list in strict order of precedence.

209. The procedures to designate the principal or headteachers of municipal schools have

been the subject of an extensive debate over the past 10 years, given that during the 1980s, they were nominated solely by the authorities of that time. In drawing up the Teachers Act of 1991 it was proposed to publish an open vacancy announcement for all principals but the opposition parties rejected this and the Act had to recognize all the holders of principal posts by then. In 1995 there was a modification to the rule, which stated that principals could remain in their posts for five years only, after which the post would be publicly advertised again, but this rule only applied to the new principals or headmasters.

210. In the private sector the selection procedure for teachers is based on the Labour

Code. The application and selection procedure is conducted by the schools, based on the type of applicant the employer wants and in agreement with its criteria. It is not normal practice for principals of schools to decide on the vacancies but they do have a large say in the process.

211. There is no compulsory testing period, but being able to contract someone for the

fixed period of a year enables the private employer to evaluate the performance of the newly contracted teachers before renewing their contracts, a trial period which is not available in the public sector, unless the teacher has been contracted on a temporary “fee” basis, which can apply to only 20% of the teaching staff. If the majority of the subsidized schools were accustomed to automatically renew the fixed-term contract without a system of evaluation, it would seem that the private schools without doubt consider the first year to be a trial period either through a mechanism established by the employers or simply through their own perception.

212. Recently, graduated teachers can either take part in the national vacancy

announcements published by the public schools’ administrators or look for possible vacancies in the different private schools. There is no formal system that guarantees a first post.

5.5 Policy initiatives and their impact

213. The requirement of holding a qualification is a very old one as is the legally authorized practice to contract people who do not have a qualification, depending on the needs of the system or the requirements of the schools. In 1990 the new Teaching Act demanded an academic degree in education as a prerequisite to obtain the title of qualified teacher or educator, a degree that can be obtained at universities via the same process of initial training. As a consequence of this, the number of people with both qualifications has increased.

214. Moreover, in the case of the public sector, it is necessary to accomplish the

following requirements to teach in a public school: being a Chilean citizen, fulfilling with the law regarding recruitment and with the health requirements


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necessary for the post, not being disqualified from exercising a public post nor having been in prison or been charged for any crime or misdemeanour.

215. Nevertheless, there is a regulation that allows people to work as teachers without a

teacher degree in those areas where there is lack of qualified personnel. These teachers can be appointed for one year only at the beginning but afterwards contracts can be extended on an annual basis once the employer demonstrates to the provincial representation of the MINEDUC that it has been impossible to find anyone with the suitable qualifications.

216. In the 1980s, as part of the decentralization process and the introduction of free

market forces into the teaching profession, recruitment, selection and assignment of teachers were deregulated. Recently the most significant change was the approval of the Professionals in Education Act, which became law in 1991, as a reaction against the liberalization of the previous decade. The Act included the obligation for all public school administrations to advertise vacancies openly and publicly on a national basis for selecting applicants for teaching vacancies in their schools. There is not empirical data or evidence showing whether or not this initiative has been comply with, or about the reliability of the selection process. On the other hand, there are critiques about the objectivity of the procedures and about the little influence that the principals of the schools have in the decision process.

217. There is at present a discussion going on in the National Congress about changes in

the requirements and the selection procedures for the appointment of principals/headteachers to public schools. It is being proposed that after the year 2005 all those applicants for the position of principal must have a previous accreditation, which fulfils the national standards for Principals, standards that define the required levels of knowledge, skills and competence necessary to be the principal of a school and to successfully run it. On the other hand, a new method of advertising and interviewing for posts is also being suggested which, instead of relying exclusively on the applicant’s background, will also include an examination where the applicant will be obliged to present a development plan for the period in question. At the same time, a representative from the school’s parent association will also be asked to sit on the interviewing commission.

5.6 Highest priority problems

218. A preliminary problem is access of teachers to the profession via a “special route” or “courses of regularizing”, which do not meet the quality requirements usually demanded for those people who have graduated with regular degrees as described previously. The adoption of additional requirements to enter the education system is being planned for those who have received training in this manner.

219. Another important issue is the unsatisfactory functioning of the procedures to select

qualified teachers for public schools. A first step to overcome this is the law currently in process in the Congress, which will modify the requirements and procedures necessary to appoint school principals.


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220. On the other hand, there are pressures from the CP to restrict or eliminate the idea

of fixed contracts in the municipalized sector and to standardize employment titles. The same pressures are being extended to the private subsidized schools to reproduce the employment stability currently existing in the public sector. On the other hand, part of the public opinion supports the type of flexibility that exists in the private sector to be applied in the public sector.

221. There is not strong evidence about whether any of these attempts put in place are

being followed neither about the reliability of the selections that are being made. Nevertheless, there are suggestions from the CP that, to a certain extent, municipal school authorities are avoiding the legal obligation to fill vacancies through publicly advertised announcements and that they prefer to fill these vacancies at their discretion without public advertisement, using fixed contract. There are also complaints that the selection of applicants is carried out by the municipal school stakeholders with very little participation of the principal.

222. And finally, it seems that the problem associated with the systems for special

authorization for taking on people as teachers in those places that lack qualified personnel is also relevant. In this case, alternatives for modifying the requirements for authorization to let people act as teachers are being studied as well as the procedures for giving the authorization and the length of time the authorization lasts.


223. The President of CONACEP believes that the selection and recruitment processes have been improved. At present, despite that there are schools developing these processes in some cases this is still not feasible, in particular when there are few teachers for a certain subject. In his opinion, a valid certificate along with an efficient selection process is sufficient condition to start working as a teacher.

224. Likewise, FIDE’s president considers that the main problems to be solved in terms

of the selection and recruitment processes is the improvement of the initial training quality and strengthening the concept of these processes as mechanisms becoming consolidated in practice, where the teachers’ assessment and training play a key role in the selection process and in the teachers’ permanency. In terms of the current requirements used to select potential teachers, he thinks that these are subject to the offer faced by the applicant entering the profession. With the present offer (single working day and low salary), raising the requirement or selection criteria is complicated issue.

225. From the CP’s perspective, the existence of a pedagogy career is the prerequisite to

select. They consider that the “regularization courses” should be accredited in the same way the undergraduate education programs are. They also think that in the municipal sector, it would be important that the headteacher would be involved in the teachers’ selection and recruitment process.


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226. In terms of the contract situation of the teachers, the CP links this with the teacher’s

duties and conditions to a good teaching. They think that teachers’ stability is necessary, as a result so is the certainty about the time that the teacher will be working. That is why they disagree with the contrata, a type of contract that only last one year instead of being of indeterminate duration as they suggest.


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CHAPTER 6: RETAINING EFFECTIVE TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS

6.1 Main policy concerns

227. Given that the process of educational reform is focused on improving the quality of learning, there is a real concern about retaining good teachers.

228. The policy of “strengthening the teaching profession” is aimed at creating

conditions to keep effective teachers within the profession. More specifically, the improvement in salaries has been the main instrument for this. But additionally there are other measures like rewards for excellent teaching, incentives for outstanding teams of teachers, special allowances given to those teachers who are performing under difficult conditions, as well as the various opportunities offered for further in-service training. The recent approval of the so called “Good Teaching Framework”30 is a contribution to strengthening and legitimising the professional nature of the teachers’ work through generating standards of performance, while the establishment of an “Excellent Teaching Award” is a significant mechanism destined to retain the best evaluated teachers in the classroom and the profession.

6.2 Teachers leaving the profession

229. Given the decentralized nature of personnel administration, it is not possible to gather information about the teachers who leave schools. Retirement due years of experience or reaching the age eligible to receive a pension are the main reasons. Nevertheless, the payment of retirement pensions is principally the responsibility of private institutions called Pension Fund Administrators (AFP) that do not register or keep details regarding the profession of those affiliated people that receive pensions. One indirect and partial indication regarding the retirement of teachers is the number of teachers in the public sector who have applied for “special compensation” payments”31, a benefit agreed by the municipalities as a one off payment to encourage the retirement of teachers who have reached the age eligible to receive a pension. In 2001, 2,879 teachers received this benefit out of a total of 9,110 of teachers that had reached the age eligible to receive a pension.

230. Teachers in general, like all workers in the public and private sector, have the right

to submit a properly authorized medical certificate for illness and receive remuneration five days after the certificate starts. In the same way, teachers have the right to be paid maternity permission, six weeks before the birth and twelve weeks after the birth of the baby.

30 See annex 8 31 Since there is no age limit for the profession, these payments are carried out eventually depending of the priorities defined by the authorities.


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231. In addition teachers in the public sector, in accordance with the Act for Professionals in Education, have the benefit of:

- A paid “permission of absence due to personal reasons” for up to 6 working days per year and

- An unpaid “permission of absence for personal reasons” for up to 6 months per year and for up to 2 years (in case of abroad studies or internship). If they ask for leave of absence to carry out a Master’s degree or post-graduate studies, this can be granted only once for a period of up to one year.

232. Teachers in the private sector are subject to the regulations of the Labour Code.

Besides medical permissions, they also get the benefit of one day paid leave in the case of the birth or death of a child and the death of a spouse. They do not receive the “permission for personal reasons” benefits that teachers enjoy in the public sector.

233. A big issue seems to be the number of medical certificates that teachers are

submitting, more common among public sector teachers than among private sector teachers. The CP argues that an important part of medical certificates is due to workload or working conditions. An agreement between the CP and MINEDUC has called to conduct an epidemiological study to be carried out by a suitably qualified university, in which the illnesses most prevalent among teachers can be studied and compared with those that affect other workers with the purpose of detecting illnesses that specifically affect teachers, measuring their incidence, identifying the environmental factors that might trigger them and adopting policies to combat the problem. The first findings of the study are that 45% of the teachers interviewed used medical certificates during the year, mostly on low risk illnesses. An important finding was that female teachers used more certificates than male teachers (49.2% versus 36.6%). Most of the certificates were given for low risk illnesses, while fewer were due to mental problems. In addition, it was concluded that 35% of the teachers express having symptoms that suggest a high risk of suffering mental health problems (anxiety, depression, sleeping problems) compared to 13.8% of a control group with similar characteristics.

6.3 Teachers’ Evaluation

234. The Teachers Act, issued at the beginning of the 90s, establishes that all educational professionals working at primary and secondary educational institutions subsidized by the State must submit themselves to a work evaluating process. In the case of the public sector, the Act rules that this evaluation must be based on four fundamental factors: job responsibility, undertaking further training, performance quality, and exceptional merits. This evaluation has to be carried out on an annual basis by a committee appointed by each municipality including the respective school’s principal, one representative of the teachers and one representative from the DAEM. The results of the evaluation must be taken into consideration when the teacher applies for other posts, scholarships, to carry out further training or postgraduate studies, or to receive financing for innovative teaching projects.


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235. On the other hand, the legislation allows employers to dismiss teachers who are negatively evaluated during two years in a row, but teachers can always appeal to the evaluation results. Another reason to dismiss individual teachers is the lack of probity, immoral behaviour or severe unfulfilment of the responsibilities imposed by the duty. These latter should be established in a summary commanded by the head of the DAEM. If at the end of it, charges are found, the teacher has one week to appeal after of which the DAEM’s Head determines whether the teacher should be absolved, or admonished through a written proof in the teacher’s worksheet, or simply dismissed. The teacher is allowed to ask the Municipality Major to consider the action, who finally will resolve the situation after one week.

236. Until 2000, a formal system of evaluation had not been applied because of the

objection of the CP, whose opposition is based on several arguments. Their disagreement is based on the composition of the evaluation committees and that the system tends to be punitive rather than formative due to its consequences.

237. Since MINEDUC have faced pressures exerted by the employers and government

opposition, the teachers’ evaluation resurfaced in the national debate as an issue of top priority in 2001. There is a consensus about the fact that the rules for the evaluation system established in the Teachers Act does not allow for the professional development of teachers due to its emphasis on the evaluation of the teacher’s function: this has led to the establishment of a technical committee comprised by representatives of MINEDUC, the CP and the Municipalities who are to propose a new system. After several months, the committee reached agreement on various aspects about the new system. Among them, the formative character of teacher evaluation which has to be based on teacher performance standards, the use of evaluation procedures and instruments, and offer the teachers opportunities to overcome their deficiencies. At the same time, they jointly agreed to prepare guidelines for standards of professional performance and to implement a pilot project in several areas of the country, the results of which can be used to construct a definitive new system of performance evaluation. In 2002, and after wide consultations and agreement with the teaching profession, a framework for performance standards was developed and officially approved as the MBE32. The pilot project for teacher performance evaluation has been applied in four regions of the country in order to evaluate and adjust the procedures and instruments to be used. In 2003, the three parties involved in this process have signed an agreement that establishes the progressive application of this evaluation system.

238. On the other hand, this method of evaluation framed within the MBE is not

compulsory to the private non-subsidized schools. Therefore, each private employer elaborates what best suits its particular institution in terms of teachers’ evaluation. There are different experiences, from those institutions that have no system of evaluation at all for their teachers, to others where the principal and his/her management team conduct informal evaluations of staff performance, and finally a few schools that have prepared procedures and instruments for teacher evaluation.

32 For details of this evaluation process, see annex 8


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6.4 Promotion and career diversification

239. In Chile, in theory any teacher of both genders can move forward from rural institutions to urban schools, from small towns to big cities (like Santiago), from underperforming institutions to those with a reputation for excellence, from private and subsidized schools to public ones and the opposite, etc. In this context, public advertisements regarding vacancies and other selection mechanisms, and the employers’ criteria for contracting staff are important factors in career development.

240. The foregoing is combined with opportunities of moving from an in-class teaching

position to more technical or administrative responsibilities. It is also possible, usually via public advertisements, for classroom teachers or those with managerial positions, to join a municipality technical team and, to a much lesser degree, to obtain a supervisory or other post at MINEDUC.

241. On the other hand, for the public sector the Teachers Act offers a career based on a

pay structure linked to the RBMN, and that gives teachers increments in their salaries on the basis of factors such as work experience, responsibility and further training.

242. In the private sector, however, there are no such legal mechanisms to guarantee

career opportunities and the only possibilities that exist are those that appear within the schools or within the private sector, in accordance with the competitiveness and market criteria, and individual or collective negotiations between the employers and the teachers.

243. One contribution to the structuring of a professional career for teachers is the

Reward for Teaching of Excellence (AEP) that benefits those classroom teachers in the public and private subsidized sectors that voluntarily submit themselves to get accreditation for this reward on the understanding that they remain as classroom teachers33.

6.5 Salary scales

244. The structure of salary scales in Chile varies between the municipal, private subsidized and purely private sectors. The Teachers Act establishes a pay structure for teachers in the municipal sector, with some regulations affecting those teachers who work in the private and private subsidized sector. In the case of teachers who work in the fee private sector, salary structures and increments are agreed between employer and teacher according to the rules and regulations of the Labour Code.

245. Teachers working at the municipal and private subsidized sector face a salary

structure based on the RBMN per class hour per educational level. In the case of municipal sector teachers, they also have a number of rewards established in

33 For more details, see annex 7


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relation to the RBMN (see Table 6.1). These rewards are based fundamentally on four factors: years of experience (an increase of 6.76% for the first two years of teaching service and then 6.66% for every two years thereafter, up to a maximum accumulated amount of 100% after reaching 30 years of service); accumulated further training (which can increase the salary in up to 40% for those teachers who have obtained post graduate studies); managerial and technical teaching responsibility (increments of up to a maximum of 20% for teachers with management responsibility in schools and up to 10% for those in technical support); and performance under difficult conditions (which can reach up to a 30% increase). This last reward is also open to those teachers in the private subsidized sector.

246. Two monetary incentives have been introduced for teachers in the public as well as

the private subsidized sectors: the National Performance Evaluation System (SNED) (see point 6.7.1) in the subsidized schools and the aforementioned AEP. Those teachers who win the AEP can also request to be part of the Teachers’ Mentors Network, which gives them an additional reward for their work in supporting other teachers (see point 6.7).

6.6 Actual practice

247. Educational legislation establishes that the maximum class size should be 45 pupils but the law also gives the MINEDUC the right in exceptional cases to authorize bigger classes if necessary. Nevertheless, most teachers work with smaller classes. The statistics for 1998 show that in primary level, the average class size per teacher was 33, while in the case of secondary schools the average size was 29 (MINEDUC, 2002).

248. According to the Act, professionals in education sign an up to 44 chronological

hours per week contract with the same employer, either at the public or private subsidized school. In private non-subsidized schools they are allowed to work up to 48 hours per week. However, it is possible to be contracted by more than one employer. The average amount of hours contracted by an employer in 2001 was 36. It is worth noting that class hours cannot exceed 75% of the total time of contracted hours.

249. In relation with the same Act, institutions with pre-school, primary and secondary

education can have professionals working as head of technical pedagogical units and/or in areas such as technical education support, educational and vocational advice for students, teaching supervision, curriculum planning, learning evaluation, educational research, and coordination of further teacher training courses apart from the usual classroom teachers and management teams. At present, 5% of teachers work in pedagogic technical support and other support areas. Recently, a couple of initiatives are being developed for schools in poorer areas to help these teachers to work with their pupils34.

34 See annex 9


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250. The decision regarding requirements and resources is made at a local level (i.e. by the municipalities and the private schools stakeholders). In the case of the subsidized schools, the relevant authorities have to take into account the range of government subsidies or other financial resources (see point 2.2) not calculated to include more professionals. In the case of the private non-subsidized institutions, the calculation must simply consider availability of resources35.

251. There are two systems of retirement for all Chilean workers: (i) The traditional

distribution system, which existed until 1980 and to which a small minority of workers still belong, among them an important number of teachers who were in the profession before that date, and (ii) the new system of individual capitalization, founded in 1980, compulsory for all people who have entered the labour market since that date and voluntary for those workers who used to belong to the old system.

252. Under both systems, the legal retirement age is 60 years old for women and 65 years

old for men. Nevertheless, those who are affiliated to the individual capitalization system under certain conditions are able to opt for an early retirement but with the disadvantage of receiving a lower pension, given that the amount of the pension is in proportion to the amount of money saved in their individual retirement account.

6.7 Policy initiatives and their impact 6.7.1. National Performance Evaluation System (SNED)

253. The MINEDUC implemented the SNED for subsidized schools in 199536. The SNED grants a monetary award to all teachers from the best qualified schools at a regional level: the schools are selected every two years and represent at most 25% of the region’s enrolment figures. The purpose was to contribute to the improvement of the quality of education provided by the subsidized educational system by encouraging and acknowledging teachers of better performing schools. The reward is equivalent to a monthly amount per pupil, delivered to schools that have been selected in accordance with the SNED index obtained.

254. The SNED has been applied four times and in the 2002-2003 period 1,863 schools

were selected, benefiting 34,400 teachers, who receive an average of US$430, representing an annual expenditure of US$14,8 millions37 of 2001.

255. In terms of the evaluation of this initiative, Contreras et al. (2003) examines the

effects on school performance of this productivity bonus (SNED) for teachers. Through OLS and matching propensity score estimators, the evidence indicates that the introduction of the SNED increases the scores obtained in the standardised

35 It is possible to find private schools with other professionals like psychologists and nurses 36 For more information about the SNED, see Universidad de Chile (1997) 37 In average, this bonus given once a year represents about 69% of the monthly minimum wage and the total amount represents 0.5% of the public expenditure in education for the year 2002.


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SIMCE exams between 4 and 18 points. Likewise, they examined whether this impact was similar across schools with different characteristics. This leads to conclude that educational institutions with more favourable external conditions were more positively affected by the introduction of the SNED bonus and therefore obtained better results in the standardised tests. Schools with higher SIMCE scores in the past were those with the greatest SNED impact. Finally, the competition produced by the introduction of this bonus was evaluated, where a greater competition among the losers was observed.

6.7.2. National Teaching Excellence Awards

256. The purpose of these awards is to establish a social acknowledgement of the teaching profession, rewarding the more outstanding teachers in the country. The educational community proposes one teacher on the basis of their personal merits through a pyramidal process that involves the schools, the communes and the different regions of the country. Fifty prizes will be awarded, distributed by regions in accordance with the relative size of the teaching staff.

6.7.3. Pedagogical Excellence Reward

257. This program was agreed between MINEDUC and the CP in order to offer new career opportunities to classroom teachers. It consists of a voluntary certification of classroom teachers done by MINEDUC. Opportunities of getting accreditation and obtaining the award are gradually opening up. In 2002 teachers from the first cycle of primary education have been able to apply (1st to 4th grade). Over the next two years the system will be open to all teachers in primary and secondary education.

258. The pedagogical excellence reward consists of a monthly amount of money that

MINEDUC pays while the teacher is in the professional practice segment, which he/she was certified. Certified teachers will be publicly acknowledged for their professional merits. Those teachers who have been accredited and obtained the award can voluntarily opt to be included into a network set up for teachers, who have won the award, to participate in projects for the professional development of their colleagues. A total of 6,087 vacancies have been considered nationwide in 2002 to obtain the Pedagogical Excellence Reward.

6.7.4. The Teachers’ Mentors Network

259. This is a Teacher Support Program whereby the teachers that have been certified for their pedagogical excellence will have the opportunity to support other teachers in order to improve the learning results of pupils38.

6.7.4. Other initiatives

38 See annex 10


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260. During 2001 and 2002, different actors (head teachers, parents, school stakeholders, students organizations) participated in workshops with the purpose of discussing two specific topics: discrimination and school violence. During 2002, the MINEDUC’s Program of School Cohabitation attempts to disseminate and carry out the commitments about school cohabitation. One of them is the redesign of the rules of school cohabitation, compulsory to all the subsidized schools. During 2003, supervisors, teachers and counsellors have been working on:

o The guiding principles of the cohabitation policy, o The procedure of pacific resolution about conflicts within the school area, and o The methodology involving the participation of teachers, students and the majority

of parents in the process of reshaping the rules of school cohabitation.

261. By 2004, three tools will be available to schools in order to improve the school cohabitation: assessment indicators, methodological orientations to reshape the cohabitation rules, and methodological orientations to define and incorporate procedures of pacific solution of conflicts.

262. Finally, another initiative is a program of public funded scholarships for teachers’

children39. 6.8 Priority problems for retaining effective teachers in schools

263. The main problems to be considered in the future development of policies to retain effective teachers include at least the following aspects: appropriate compensation, professional incentives and professional work conditions, like adequate educational materials and instruments, the group of situations that occur in the classroom, and time management as a factor that if used with pedagogical rationality may become an important tool to retain effective teachers, etc.

264. From a conceptual point of view, there is a consensus about the idea that the best

teachers must remain in the classrooms. In order to achieve this, MINEDUC and some school stakeholders have implemented a set of policies to retain effective teachers in the classroom. What has been discussed is not the principle or central idea, but the different policies to implement it.

265. In general the discussion has moved from the salaries figures to their character and

structure. The issues of incentives and career development have gained strength leading to a discussion about evaluation and the level of job stability.

266. In addition to a wide agreement about investing more money in teacher salaries, the

characteristics and structure of the salaries are still under discussion between MINEDUC and the CP, as mentioned above (see point 6.9).

267. At the other end, there are sectors with a different position that suggest

implementing systems to encourage extreme differentiation and competitiveness in

39 See annex 11


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teachers salaries, particularly based on pupils’ results. The Government and MINEDUC have supported by now the idea of improving basic salaries but moving at the same time to propose a differentiation in salaries and particularly towards incentives related to the quality of teacher performance. However, they have resisted the idea of tying performance to pupils’ results. Two specific issues, with different emphasis, have arisen as a result of these debates: the evaluation of teachers and, to a lesser extent, the teacher’s career. As mentioned before, as far as the evaluation of teachers is concerned, people hold different positions but at the same time important consensus and progress have been achieved.

268. There is an agreement between the three parties (teachers, MINEDUC and the

employers, in particular the Chilean Association of Municipalities) in order to work on the introduction of a generalized and systematic system to evaluate teachers that would consist of a transparent, formative and not punitive evaluation. In other words, evaluation processes that identify strengths and weaknesses or flaws in each teacher’s performance in order to generate in the first place incentives, and to help teachers correct and overcome these errors in the second place.


269. In order to retain outstanding teachers, the President of CONACEP suggest the development and application of an incentive policy based on teachers’ performance. Similarly, he believes that improving the working conditions of teachers is extremely important, given that, from his opinion, this is an essential condition to get a better teachers’ performance.

270. He considers that the Teacher Evaluation System is a good idea seen as a public

policy and due to the incorporation of the concept of performance assessment. However, he thinks that this innovation should be connected to the school’s performance and should be carried out by the school management instead by peers.

271. The most valuable features highlighted by FIDE’s president are the fact that those

teachers with outstanding performance due to their professionalism, abilities and preparation inside each educational unit must be retained, not only because of their quality but also because of their commitment to the educational project of the school and their empathy with it. The first thing to do is to identify these teachers, then reward them not only economically but also with opportunities of improvement.

272. He agrees with the AEP as a recognition instrument but at the same time does not

think that this is a solution that promotes the general pedagogical change within the class needed by the new school curriculum.

273. Regarding the Teachers Evaluation, the time limits used for the decision making

process are quite long and unavoidably needs to discriminate among efficient and non-efficient teachers. The evaluation methodology is not adequate either. Peers, as external evaluators, do not possess the information to evaluate. For this reason, the


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evaluation must be carried out by each school thus it can be done in terms of its educational project. The school and its principal must lead the evaluation process so the teacher profile needed by each school would be considered.

274. The CP, as far as its concerned, considers that the main issue is the actual lack of an

official career that strengthens the in-class practice. They think that there should be incentives for teachers to keep their career inside the class and not necessarily to become a principal as the current system states.

275. In terms of the present salary structure of teachers, they think that, in the first place,

there is a need to compensate the losses experimented during the military regime, that were bigger than the ones experimented by other economic sectors, and, secondly, that all the income improvements should be linked to the concept of “career” that has to do, for instance, with teacher training, excellence allowance, performance evaluation, retirement, among others.

276. They do not agree with the competitive emphasis of AEP, and with its limited

amount of resources, since they think that this is a contradiction with the nature of the teaching profession. In their opinion, this should seek to reward all teachers with outstanding performance and on a permanent basis, in consistency with the SNED and other policies consented between the CP, MINEDUC and the ACM.

277. They put more emphasis on improvements in working conditions, demanding a

reduction in the number of pupils per class and in the number of effective teaching hours.

278. And finally, they judge in general as suitable the initiative of teachers evaluation

proposed by MINEDUC, yet they think it is not connected with a professional career. They also point out that it should be complemented with better teachers’ working conditions. However, they underline as a positive feature, the fact that this has been an initiative developed using as a basis a dialogue process in which the efforts of different actors have been articulated and with its own progression.


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REFERENCES Avalos y Nordenflycht, (1999), “La formación de Profesores. Perspectivas y Experiencias”, (Santillana, Santiago). Avalos, B. (1999), “Mejoramiento de la formación inicial docente. Análisis de las necesidades, contenidos y factores limitantes relacionados con proyectos de cambio formulados por instituciones universitarias”, in García-Huidobro J. (edit), La Reforma Educacional Chilena, (Proa, Madrid). Avalos, B. (1999), “Mejorando la Formación de Profesores. El Programa de Mejoramiento de la Formación Inicial Docente en Chile (FFID)”, Santiago. Avalos, B. (2002), “Profesores para Chile, historia de un proyecto”, (MINEDUC, Santiago). Aylwin, (1999) “Informe sobre la situación de las carreras de pedagogía. 1994-1999”, in Pérsico, P. (edit.), Informe sobre la Educación Superior en Chile, (Corporación de Promoción Universitaria, Santiago) Central Bank of Chile, www.bcentral.cl. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo de la Educación (CIDE), (2002), “III Encuesta Nacional a los Actores del Sistema Educativo Medición 2001”, Santiago Comisión Nacional Para la Modernización de la Educación, (1995), “Informe de la Comisión Nacional Para la Modernización de la Educación”, (Editorial Universitaria, Santiago) Comité Técnico Asesor del Diálogo nacional sobre la modernización de la Educación Chilena, (1995), “Los Desafíos de la Educación Chilena al Siglo XXI”, Editorial Universitaria, Santiago Contreras, D., Flores, L. and Lobato, F. (2003), “Monetary incentives for school performance: evidence for Chile”, to be published Corporación Tiempo 2000, (1996), “Educational Reform and the Perception of the Role of the Teacher”, in ENERSIS “Education in Chile: the Challenge for Quality”, Santiago Cox y Gysling, (1999), “La formación del profesorado en Chile. 1842-1987”, CIDE, Santiago Cox y Lemaitre, “Market and State principles of reform in Chilean education: policies and results”, Santiago.


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DIPRES, (2001), Evaluación de Programas Gubernamentales, “Programa de Fortalecimiento de la Formación Inicial Docente”, Santiago Ministerio de Educación de Chile (MINEDUC), (1991), Estatuto Docente Ministerio de Educación de Chile (MINEDUC), (2002), Estadisticas de la Educación - Año 2001, Santiago Ministerio de Educación de Chile (MINEDUC), (2003), National Public Opinion Survey, Santiago Ministerio de Educación de Chile (MINEDUC), (2003), Report to the OECD Mission: Evaluating Chile’s Educational Policies From 1990-2002, Santiago Ministerio de Planificación y Cooperación (MIDEPLAN), (2000), Encuesta de caracterización Socioeconómica (CASEN), www.mideplan.cl Mizala y Romaguera, (2000), “Remuneraciones y los profesores en Chile”, Serie Económica N° 93, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile, Santiago Mizala y Romaguera, (2001), “Regulación, incentivos y remuneraciones de los profesores en Chile” (Regulation, incentives and salaries of teachers in Chile), Santiago de Chile, Ministries of Education of Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, CRESUR Project. Mizala y Romaguera, (2003), “Rendimiento Escolar y Premios por Desempeño, la Experiencia Latinoamericana”, Serie Económica N° 157, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile, Santiago MORI, Market Opinion Research International, (1998), “National Survey of Teachers for the Ministry of Education”, Santiago OECD, 2003, “OECD Economic Assessment of Chile” Universidad de Chile, Departamento de Ingeniería Industrial, (1997), “Evaluación de la Implementación y Resultados del SNED 1996-1997”, Santiago


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LIST OF ANNEXES Annex 1: The Educational Reform (ER) Since 1990 different educational projects have been gradually implemented in order to create positive changes at pre-school, primary and secondary education level. The enactment of the Teachers Act, the development of plans to improve municipal and school management, along with a substantial increase in educational expenditure are the most important innovations during the nineties. With this group of initiatives announced by President Frei in his 1996 address to the nation, covering aspects regarding the teaching profession, curricular reform and the extension of the school day, the entire set of deep-rooted changes in the system was publicly framed within the ER. This ER is taking place progressively and incrementally, enriched with contributions from the schools on the basis that educational systems must constantly be open to adjustments if they are to respond to the changing conditions of the society. An open-ended educational system with numerous points of contact with society and flexible enough to react before the pressure of change, requires the incremental and sustained rhythm of adaptation made possible by decentralized systems. In relation to this, the ER was not planned to be performing on the basis of a single feature but rather developing itself at the micro social level. Its success will depend on the progressive capacity of all the actors involved to make it work efficiently. It is expected that the ER will gradually influence every part of the system: teaching and learning strategies and resources, management, school infrastructure, levels of funding and working conditions of teachers. The main components of the ER are: Programmes of Improvement and Innovation: the educational policy in the 1990s has sought to increase learning opportunities for the largest number of students. This is accomplished through improvement programmes that cover the different levels and delivery forms in the system. Such programmes are aimed directly at revamping teaching and learning practices through a combination of resources, incentives and ideas intended to stir the creative initiatives of teachers. Curricular Reform: a thorough curricular revision was carried out for Primary and Secondary Education, leading to the production of new curricular frameworks for both levels. Strengthening of the Teaching Profession: the ER currently in progress considers the teacher as a key player. For this purpose, MINEDUC has launched this programme, which includes actions related to initial teacher and in-service training, such as subject-oriented training, scholarships and short-term internships abroad, and the SNED. Extension of the School Day: the ER also comprises curricular, pedagogical and school management reforms. In order to maximize the benefit of their potential, these reforms require more working time than the one available with the current time structures. Extending the school day opens up the possibility of achieving this potential more effectively.


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Annex 2: Requirements for schools to receive public subsidy (voucher) In order to accede to the public subsidy, Private Schools should: o Be officially recognized by MINEDUC; o Have classrooms fulfilling the minimum and maximum number of students per class; o Have courses and cycles of education that corresponds to the levels of education offered; o Design internal rules that regulate the relations between the institution and the students; o Not charge nor ask for monetary contributions to the students’ families that exceed the rights

of schooling and registration fees authorized by law; o Be up to date in terms of social security payments and payroll salaries to their teachers and

staff.

Annex 3: Voucher System40 A voucher system for education is defined as a funding arrangement under which parents receive entitlements for each school-aged child from the State, which they may “cash-in” at a specific set of schools. In turn, schools redeem them for “cash” from the government. Vouchers could potentially improve student achievement through three interrelated mechanisms (Hsieh and Urquiola, 2002). First, vouchers may enhance individual parental choice, which contributes to personal satisfaction and motivation. In particular, vouchers provide opportunities for student from low-income families who otherwise would have limited school option. These students would be able to move from the public to the private sector. Assuming that the latter is more efficient than the former in terms of student outcomes, this shift could imply an improvement in the performance of the entire system. Second, vouchers may generate greater socio-economic polarisation of student among schools as student seek to achieve the same results as their fellow students (peers). The impact of this peer effect on performance is uncertain and depends on how it affects the performance of different groups of student. Third, vouchers financed by public funds could help increase efficiency in terms of learning outcomes and costs, through competition among schools, attracting and retaining pupils, as their budget depends directly on enrolment. The Chilean system differs from the typical voucher system, since the government pays the per child subsidy directly to the school chosen by the children’s family. This is known as an implicit voucher system (OECD, 1999a) or a funds-follow-the child system, (Mizala and Romaguera, 2000). Only municipal and private schools that set a limit on co-payments to the families are eligible to receive vouchers. In particular, the government pays to each school a multiple of a ‘school subsidy unit’ (USE) for each pupil effectively attended. The multiple varies according to a school’s provision of education (half or full day education, level of education) and the amount of co-payments by parents, but is the same for municipal and subsidised private schools (Sapelli and Vial, 2002). The real value of the voucher (USE) increased at an annual rate of 11 per cent between 1990 and 2001. In the 1980s there was an almost free market for education enabling the voucher system to develop fast. There was no teachers’ union, no collective bargaining, teachers were on individual contract with private and public schools and could be fired at any time. Market rules changed in 1991 with the introduction of the Teacher Act, which enforces central wage negotiation and protects teachers against dismissal. Other rules were also introduced in the 1990s. From 1993 subsidised private schools were formally allowed to charge co-payments on the pupil’s parents on top of the vouchers and other fees such as “suggested parent contributions”.

40 Extracted from the OECD Economic Assessment of Chile, 2003.


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Annex 4: Teachers Act This Act was decreed in 1991 in order to regulate the professional requirements, obligations, duties and rights, common to all the education professionals. In terms of wages, it sets the minimum value for the chronological hour and for the municipal sector, in a compulsory way, the following allowances: experience, improvement, performance in disadvantage conditions, and managing technical-pedagogical responsibilities. This Regulation is to be applied to the Educational Professionals that render services at primary and secondary level schools, both at municipal and officially recognized private subsidized schools, as well as at pre-primary subsidized schools. This Law regulates: a. The requirements, duties, rights and obligations of professional emphasis common to all educational professionals mentioned before; b. The career of the educational professionals working at the municipal sector; and c. The contract of the educational professionals working at private schools either subsidized or not. This Law deals with several topics such as: professional functions, teaching practice improvement, accreditation, scholarships, professional career, rights, salaries, internal regulations, evaluation of functions, end of working relations, work at the private sector, collective bargaining, etc.

Annex 5: The Standard Career Teachers Contract MUNICIPAL SECTOR “The professionals will be hired to perform their duties through a decree or contract, depending on the case, that will contain, at least, the following specifications:

o Employee’s name o Name and ID number of the teacher o Date of incorporation to the Municipality o Type of activities to perform. o Number of clock hours per week to work o Daily working day o Level and type of education, when relevant, and o The status of the appointment and the period of time, in case of contracts”.

PRIVATE SECTOR “The work contracts of the private subsidized educational professionals will have to include the following specifications:

o Description of the teaching duties to be committed; o Determination of the weekly working day, differentiating the in-class teaching

responsibilities from other activities; o Place and timetable; o Contract time-length, which can be of fixed term, indefinite term, or for

replacement.


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The fixed term contract will be a one-year basis, but it can be renewed according to the Labour Legislation. The replacement contract is the one that allows a teacher to temporarily substitute other teacher within school who is not able to carry out their duties due to any circumstance. It should be established in it, the name of the professional to be replaced and the reason of his/her non-attendance. The replacement contract will last for the period of time in which the replaced teacher will be not present, except otherwise stipulated.

Annex 6: Scholarships The Program of Scholarships to Outstanding Teaching Students started in 1998 as an initiative aiming to stimulate good performing students to study teaching programmes. An important outcome is the growing interest of “good” students to apply to these careers of Pedagogy. While in 1990, 25,096 were enrolled in education programs, by 2001 these enrolment was increased to 51,038 students (MINEDUC, 2002). The requirements are: to apply as a first option to a Pedagogy; to get a score of 600 points or more in the P.A.A (Higher Education Admission Test); an average score of 6.0 (1.0 to 7.0 scale) in secondary level; and the commitment of work as a teacher for at least three years right after graduation. This program sets an additional bonus for those applying to basic education, Mathematics and Science as a first option, and Language and Communication, and English as a second option. Despite that, the enrolment in the Science area keeps low, especially in Chemistry and Physics. The scholarship finances the teacher student’s complete career in any university or professional institute of Chile. The program also contemplates financing complementary scholarships of educational material in the event that there are sufficient funds available.

Annex 6: Reward for Teaching of Excellence (AEP) This incentive aims to recognize and reward the merit of class teachers that shows knowledge, skills and aptitudes of excellence. The process of evaluation is carried out annually according to the budget availability. The applicants should fulfil the following requirements:

o To work as class teachers in subsidized schools o To have a contract of 30 hrs per week minimum in case of pre-school and primary

education, and of 20 hrs per web minimum in case of secondary level. o Having worked professionally at least for two years (bienio).

The Reward for Excellence consists in segments of professional teaching performance according to the number of working years. Teachers can apply to this selection process twice in each segment. There are four segments:

o Segment 1: teachers from 2 up to 11 working years o Segment 2: teachers from 12 up to 21 working years o Segment 3: teachers from 22 up to 31 working years o Segment 4: teachers with 32 working years or more.


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MINEDUC should be in charge of:

o Determining the annual places announcement (6.087 places for year 2003) o Distributing the quotas to each region, in proportion to the number of class teachers. o Redistributing the respective quota within the same region in case of no use of the whole

initial assigned places.

The evaluation instruments assess the achievement of the performance standards defined by MINEDUC. The evaluation procedure considers two instruments:

o A written test that measures pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge; and o A portfolio with concrete evidence about the teaching-learning process.

The allowance is an economical benefit distributed twice a year, and it will be active as long as the teacher stays in the accredited segment. Requirements to keep the AEP

o To work as class teacher during the allowance application; o To be within the segment in which the teacher certified his/her excellence condition; o To keep a satisfactory level of performance on his/her professional performance

assessment; o To keep working in the region where she/he receives the allowance; o Not being administratively penalized as a result of a legal summary.

Annex 7: Scholarships The Program of Scholarships to Outstanding Teaching Students started in 1998 as an initiative aiming to stimulate good performing students to study teaching programmes. An important outcome is the growing interest of “good” students to apply to these careers of Pedagogy. While in 1990, 25,096 were enrolled in education programs, by 2001 these enrolment was increased to 51,038 students (MINEDUC, 2002). The requirements are: to apply as a first option to a Pedagogy; to get a score of 600 points or more in the P.A.A (Higher Education Admission Test); an average score of 6.0 (1.0 to 7.0 scale) in secondary level; and the commitment of work as a teacher for at least three years right after graduation. This program sets an additional bonus for those applying to basic education, Mathematics and Science as a first option, and Language and Communication, and English as a second option. Despite that, the enrolment in the Science area keeps low, especially in Chemistry and Physics. The scholarship finances the teacher student’s complete career in any university or professional institute of Chile. The program also contemplates financing complementary scholarships of educational material in the event that there are sufficient funds available.

Annex 8: Teacher Evaluation System Design The evaluation has a formative emphasis, focused in the learning that educators and the school system achieve in order to improve their pedagogical responsibilities. Here the teacher’s professional performance is appraised. This performance is depicted in a document that draws 20 criteria and 70 describers grouped in 4 domains, which form the Good Teaching Framework (MBE). This framework was designed and discussed with an important


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number of teachers during the II National Consultation so that teachers are aware of the criteria used to evaluate. All class teachers belonging to the municipal sector will be appraised on a compulsory basis and every four years. In the future, teachers with management and technical/pedagogical responsibilities will be evaluated as well. The process consists on the elaboration of evaluative judgements about the performance level of teachers in relation to the different domains, criteria and describers abovementioned. Appraisal instruments:

o Structured evidence portfolio o Written outcomes o Class recording (video)

o Self evaluation guideline o Structured interview to the teacher under evaluation o Report of a third party position (head teacher or UTP head)

o The evaluation will be carried out bearing in mind the context in which teachers are working.

The evaluators must:

o Be teachers elected, accredited and trained by the CPEIP o Belong to the same level and type of education to the teachers under evaluation o Work at schools other than the ones where the teachers under evaluation are currently

working at o And work preferentially in the same local community

Consequences This appraisal, considering its formative emphasis, will provide the information to:

o The teachers about her/his performance strengths and weaknesses. o Principals and administrators in order to guide the professional development actions of the

school’s teachers. o To the permanent and initial teacher training programs. o To the Municipality in order to establish commitments of professional self-improvement of

teachers. The final outcome of this evaluation process is an overall judgment related to the professional performance that will set teachers’ performance in one of the following levels: excellent, competent, basic or unsatisfactory. Teachers evaluated as excellent and competent will have preferential access to professional development opportunities, advantages in job selection processes, internships abroad, guide teachers of workshops, participation on academic seminars, among others. A fund for professional development will be available whose use will be exclusive for supporting the appraisal system, especially the tutorials and training processes involved in it. Organization The Municipalities will be in charge of the administration of their teachers’ evaluation process. The model of evaluation will have legal authorization to validate and give national comparability to the evaluation outcomes. Likewise, MINEDUC will be in charge of pronouncing the legal norm; reviewing and updating the teachers’ performance standards; elaborating and validating instruments; selecting, training and tracking the evaluators; and monitoring the system operation. The system will be implemented gradually according to levels of education and communities. In


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2003 this system will be applied to the entire universe of teachers from 1st to 4th of primary level in 74 communities.

Annex 9: Teacher assistants Recently two initiatives with teachers’ assistants are being developed for schools in social risk: Program to retain students in the school: from 2001 it has been developed a program for liceos (secondary education schools) with high vulnerability. One of the strategies is focused in the recovery of the specific knowledge in Language and Mathematics for students enrolled at 1st degree of secondary level. Some liceos call for the support of advisers, that can be: students from higher degrees from the same liceos; students from the same class that support specific groups while the class is being carried out; graduated students hired to support in specific duties defined by the teachers; or in-practice teacher students taking responsibilities consented with the teacher. Program for the 900 schools: this program was designed as a support strategy for 1st grade teachers, in classes of 35 or more pupils, to which a teacher assistant was appointed. The rationale behind this is to help the teacher’ work so that he/she can concentrate in the teaching process of reading, writing and mathematics, especially in the cases of pupils requiring more assistance. The assistants can be young people, either university students or parents, living in the same town where the school is located. They must have experience in working with children, being unemployed and not being part of any other MINEDUC program. The selection process is accomplished via public contest and is under the responsibility of the school management, although teachers from 1st degree must participate as well. The assistant’s responsibilities are: to give support in tasks related to class and school work organization, to help in tasks related to material preparation, and to support in direct activities with children.

Annex 10: Teachers’ Mentors Network The Teachers’ Mentors Network aims to reinforce the teaching profession, through the use of the professional capacities of teachers entitled to receive the AEP allowance. The CPEIP will call annually to a selection process to incorporate to the Network teachers fulfilling the following conditions:

o To qualify as AEP beneficiary. o To meet the conditions of the selection process by which their skills, performance and

professional goals will be evaluated. o To work as class teacher, in public subsidized schools, with a minimum of 30 hours in pre-

primary and primary level, and a minimum of 20 hours in secondary level. The applicants are selected based on the assessment of a portfolio that includes:

o The applicants’ abilities to contribute to the professional development of class teachers o The creation of learning communities among peers.

The applicants not selected are allowed to submit an application every three years, with no limit of opportunities. Only the Network members can apply to run projects of in action participation. The selected members have the right to receive an additional income on a quarterly basis. The number of teachers allowed to receive such allowance is specified annually in the National Budget Law. This additional amount for 2003 is approximately US$ 6,0 per hour and disbursed quarterly. The perimeters of action are determined bearing in mind the national, regional and local needs, as well as the initiatives of the Network members. Those teachers chosen to develop projects subscribe a contract with CPEIP that establishes a limit of 160 hours per year. The status of Network member is permanent as long as the teacher:


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o Is entitled to the AEP and to the responsibilities that this imposes on him/her o Fulfils in due time the contract duties.

The authority of CPEIP to the management and development of the Network o To run the selection process to be part of the Network. o To define the crucial perimeters of action. o To elaborate and subscribe contracts with the Mentors chosen to implement the in action

participation projects. o To deliver a judgement about the temporary or final loss of the status of Network member. o To supervise and evaluate the teachers’ mentors, the Networking functioning and the

development of the perimeters of action.

Annex 11: Scholarships for Teachers’ Children The Program of Scholarships for Teachers’ Children was launched in 1999 as part of an initiative signed between MINEDUC and the CP. The Budget Law of the public sector includes every year funds for these scholarships, destined to children of teachers and teachers’ assistants currently working at public subsidized schools, entering the first year of higher education as well as for the renewal of the benefit to those who have obtained it the year before in accordance to the conditions and requirements established in the particular regulation. For 2003, US$3 million will be used to grant 4.117 scholarships, of which 3.223 belong to old students and 894 to new students, to study in the universities of the Consejo de Rectores (Public funded universities) or in any self-governing private higher education institution. The regulation of 2002 for these scholarships also establishes the following requirements to apply for the scholarship: a) Chilean nationality; b) To certify that given their own socio-economic conditions and their families’, they need

this help to fund their higher education studies; c) Having achieved a satisfactory academic performance, which means a minimum average

score of 5,5 in secondary level, and a PAA average score not below 500 points. To keep this benefit, students must: a) Be a regular student of the respective career or institution. b) Keep the socio-economic condition that entitled them to this benefit. c) Having passed at least the 60% of the subjects subscribed during the first academic year.

For higher years, the requirement is 70% of the subjects subscribed in the respective year.


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LIST OF TABLES

CHAPTER 1: NATIONAL CONTEXT TABLE 1.1: Population 5 – 29 years old, 1992-2002

Age segment 1992 2002 Total 6,125,911 6,413,289

5 – 14 years 2,476,833 2,739,050 15 – 19 years 1,217,129 1,280,089 20 – 24 years 1,208,011 1,201,426 25 – 29 years 1,223,938 1,192,724

Source: 1992 – 2002 census TABLE 1.2: Public expenditure on education, 1990 – 2001

Public Expenditure on Education

Year MMUS$ of 2001

Percentage of Total Social Expenditure

Percentage of Total Public Expenditure

1990 997.4 20.9% 11.9% 1991 1,124.1 21.6% 13.1% 1992 1,295.9 22.5% 13.9% 1993 1,412.2 22.3% 14.1% 1994 1,545.3 23.0% 14.8% 1995 1,720.9 23.9% 15.6% 1996 1,929.5 24.4% 16.1% 1997 2,145.5 25.7% 16.9% 1998 2,347.6 26.2% 17.3% 1999 2,547.6 26.3% 17.9% 2000 2,715.8 26.5% 18.4% 2001 2,920.2 26.8% 18.7%

Source: Education Statistics, MINEDUC, 2002


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TABLE 1.3: Expenditure on education, 1990 - 2001

Year Public Expenditure on Education / GDP

Private Expenditure on Education / GDP

Total Expenditure on Education / GDP

1990 2.4% 1.4% 3.8% 1991 2.6% 1.4% 4.0% 1992 2.7% 1.6% 4.3% 1993 2.8% 1.7% 4.6% 1994 2.9% 2.0% 4.8% 1995 2.9% 2.0% 4.9% 1996 3.2% 2.5% 5.7% 1997 3.4% 2.3% 5.7% 1998 3.7% 2.6% 6.3% 1999 4.0% 3.2% 7.2% 2000 4.1% 3.3% 7.4% 2001 4.4% n.a. n.a.


TABLE 1.4: Expenditure on educational institutions per student, year 1999 Annual expenditure on educational institutions, from public and private sources, per full time equivalent student, in equivalent US$ converted using PPP, by level of education Chilean (OECD) Level

Pre-school (Pre-school)

Primary Primary (Lower Secondary)

Secondary (Upper Secondary)

Higher (Tertiary)

Chile 1,431 1,701 1,767 2,041 6,911 Source: OECD, Financing Education Investments and Return, 2002. TABLE 1.5: Expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP, year 1999 Chilean (OECD) Level

Pre-school (Pre-school)

Primary (Primary and

Lower Secondary)

Secondary (Upper Secondary)

Higher (Tertiary)

Total

Chile 0.5 3.1 1.4 2.2 7.2 Source: OECD, Financing Education Investments and Return, 2002.


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CHAPTER 2: THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE SCHOOL WORKFORCE

TABLE 2.1: Schools and enrollment by educational level, school year 2001

Source: Department of Research and Statistics, MINEDUC, 2003 TABLE 2.2: Schools and enrollment by educational level, school year 2001

Children and youngsters

Geographic

Area Total Pre-school Special Primary Secondary

Total Secondary (General)

Secondary (Vocational)

Total 17,160 5,116 710 8,814 2,520 1,533 987

Urban 11,292 4,108 648 4,182 2,354 1,467 887 Educational Units

Rural 5,868 1,008 62 4,632 166 66 100

Total 3,559,022 287,296 59,292 2,361,721 850,713 474,641 376,072

Urban 3,170,231 261,666 57,409 2,030,182 820,974 463,958 357,016 Enrollment

Rural 388,791 25,630 1,883 331,539 29,739 10,683 19,056


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Basic For the purposes of ISCED, 1 education 6 12 6 6 ... the last two grades (7°, 8°)

(1°- 6° grade) reported as (ISCED) 2A

Basic 6° grade Basic2A education basic education 12 14 2 8 ...

(7°- 8° grade) education diploma

Middle Basic Middle3A education, education education 14 18 4 12 ...

general diploma diploma

Middle Basic Middle3A education, education education 14 18 4 12 ...

vocational diploma diploma

Tertiary, Middle Technical Some institutions require 5B technical education diploma with 18 22 4 ... 4 passing a national

diploma specialization examinations for entrance

Middle Bachelor's The first degree in most5A education degree or universities.

(1st, University diploma other 18 3 5 ... 5 Most Intututions requiremedium) qualification passing a national

examination for entranceBachelor's

5A Tertiary, degree or Post-graduate (2nd, professional other diploma 23 24 1 ... 6short) professional

qualicationBachelor's

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professionalqualicationBachelor'sdegree or Doctorate

6 Doctorate other degree 23 25 2 ... 7professionalqualication

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TABLE 2.3: Schools and enrollment by year, 1990- 2001

Year Schools Enrollment

1990 9,814 2,963,139 1991 9,822 2,938,708 1992 9,773 2,995,858 1993 9,808 3,020,199 1994 9,788 3,058,873 1995 10,372 3,150,629 1996 10,768 3,271,785 1997 10,470 3,306,600 1998 10,621 3,337,976 1999 10,705 3,429,927 2000 10,605 3,508,509 2001 10,803 3,559,022

Source: Education Statistics, MINEDUC, 2002 TABLE 2.4: Schools and enrollment by type of school and geographic zone, school year 2001

% Schools % Enrollment Type of School Number of

Schools Total Urban Rural Enrollment

Total Urban Rural

Total 10,803 100.0 56.2 43.8 3,559,022 100 89.1 10.9

Public 6,242 57.8 22.3 35.4 1,889,645 53.1 44.4 8.7

Private subsidized 3,530 32.7 24.5 8.1 1,356,449 38.1 36.0 2.2 Private non-subsidized

1,031 9.5 9.4 0.2 312,928 8.8 8.7 0.1



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TABLE 2.5: Teachers by function, gender and type of school, year 2001

Type of school Type of

Function Gender Total Public

School

Private Subsidized

School

Private Non-subsidized

School Total 146,918 81,152 45,121 20,645

Male 43,874 24,868 13,550 5,456 Total

Female 103,044 56,284 31,571 15,189

Total 125,615 68,967 38,496 18,152

Male 34,269 18,727 10,949 4,593 Classroom teacher

Female 91,346 50,240 27,547 13,559

Total 5,102 3,062 1,433 607

Male 1,657 1,036 448 173 Technical pedagogical

Female 3,445 2,026 985 434

Total 9,549 5,470 3,037 1,042

Male 4,865 3,110 1,326 429 Managerial

Female 4,684 2,360 1,711 613

Total 4,311 2,705 1,314 292

Male 2,214 1,645 493 76 Managerial and classroom teacher Female 2,097 1,060 821 216

Total 2,177 818 820 539

Male 793 290 321 182 Other in the school

Female 1,384 528 499 357

Total 164 130 21 13

Male 76 60 13 3 Other outside the school

Female 88 70 8 10 Source: Education Statistics, MINEDUC, 2002 Technical pedagogical is refer to those teachers who defined the pedagogical issues in the school. Managerial includes principals and other executive functions. Managerial and classroom teachers are mainly principals from rural schools. Other in the school includes psychologists and orientation personnel. Other outside the school is a special category defined for those teachers from public schools working at the municipalities.


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TABLE 2.6: Teachers by age and type of school, year 2001

Type Age Total

Public School

Private Subsidized

School

Private Non Subsidized

School

Total 146,918 80,864 45,349 20,705 Less than 31 15,430 4,218 8,719 2,493

31 to 40 37,475 12,594 17,198 7,683 41 to 50 48,962 29,779 12,125 7,058 51 to 60 36,136 28,705 4,855 2,576

More than 60 8,915 5,568 2,452 895 Source: Department of Research and Statistics, MINEDUC, 2002

CHAPTER 3: ATTRACTING TALENTED PEOPLE TO THE TEACHER

PROFESSION

TABLE 3.1: Length of program and enrollment by level of education, year 2001

Length in semesters Alternative Programs

(1) Level Number of institutions

Min Max Mode

Total enrollment

Institutions Enrollment Total

Total 43,252 5,582 48,834

Pre-primary 43 6 10 10 10,544 2 204 10,748

Primary 42 7 10 10 10,515 5 4,845 15,360

Secondary 32 6 11 10 13,881 1 38 13,919

Secondary (Second

Bachelor’s) 3 2 4 3 303 303

Special Education 14 8 10 10 3,640 3,640

Technical-Vocational High

school 3 4 10 4 12 3 406 418

Other 20 4,357 2 89 4,446

Source: Database of the Division of Higher Education, MINEDUC, 2001. 1. Information on Alternative Programs is not complete as not all institutions report the information

TABLE 3.2: Increase in the score obtained in the PAA, 1998 - 2001 Year Pre-school Primary Secondary Special 1998 535 540 533 554 1999 506 552 543 566 2000 559 571 555 571 2001 570 587 589 592 Increase 6% 8% 10% 6%

Source: Avalos 2002


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TABLE 3.3: Distribution of teachers and comparison groups per income deciles, year 1998

Deciles Level of autonomous income per

capita in US$ 2002

Teachers %

Non-teachers with 13 and

more years of education

Non-teachers with 17 and more

years of education

Non-teachers

(%)

1 – 33 0.0 0.5 0.1 6.1 2 34 – 52 0.6 1.6 0.4 10.2 3 53 – 71 2.2 3.0 0.8 11.5 4 72 – 92 4.7 4.6 1.6 12.4 5 93 – 117 5.7 6.6 2.5 12.2 6 118 – 150 10.3 8.7 4.4 11.4 7 151 – 201 16.0 12.4 8.3 11.0 8 202 – 292 20.8 16.2 13.3 10.0 9 293 – 497 23.6 20.5 23.8 8.2 10 498 – 16.0 25.8 44.9 7.1

Total (N) 1,791 9,215 2,696 58,006 Source: Mizala y Romaguera (2001), values of decile ranges updated with data of 2002. TABLE 3.4. Scholarships for teaching students and average score obtained in the PAA, 1998 - 2003

Male Female Year Number of

scholarships PAA Average

Score Number of

scholarships PAA

Average score TOTAL

1998 27 608 95 617 122 1999 28 625 184 622 212 2000 56 642 207 631 263 2001 82 663 196 647 278 2002 105 653 292 645 397

2003* 58 662 134 664 192 Source: FFID * These scholarships were part of the FFID (1998-2002) aiming at improving the teaching careers in 17 universities throughout the country. At the end of this program, the scholarships became part of a group of students’ assistances from MINEDUC, with a lower budget from 2003 on.

TABLE 3.5: New enrollments in the careers of both primary and secondary education, 1997 - 2001 Level 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Increase %

1997-2001 Primary 822 867 1,070 1,045 1,052 28% Secondary 2,696 2,855 3,262 3,240 3,373 25%

Source: Avalos 2002


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CHAPTER 4: EDUCATING, DEVELOPING AND CERTIFYING

TABLE 4.1: Teachers in the Program of Study Abroad Scholarships, 1996 - 2001 Year 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Total No. of Teachers 489 796 902 936 916 462 4,501


CHAPTER 6: RETAINING EFFECTIVE TEACHERS IN SCHOOLS

TABLE 6.1: Salary scale for public schools by level of education and years of work, year 2001 (in US$ of 2001)

Years RBMN (1) Experience (2) Training (3) Agreement bonus (4)

Minimum wage bonus (5)

Total

Primary Level

0 411 73 133 617

10 411 137 17 73 638

20 411 274 34 81 800

30 411 411 51 89 962

Secondary Level

0 432 73 111 617

10 432 144 18 73 688

20 432 288 36 81 837

30 432 432 54 89 1007 Source: Department of Institutional Development, MINEDUC, 2003.

1. Minimum Basic National Pay 2. Additional payment by experience (increasing by number of pair of years) 3. Amount added by number of accumulated hours of training. This example assumes a number of

hours increased by the number of years. 4. Bonus fixed by law. They were defined in political agreements between the Government and the

Teachers Association. They also increase by number of pair of years. 5. The purpose of this bonus is to arise the minimum teacher wage.

Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers OECD … · Ana María Quiroz International...

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